Supply chain Networks are designed with a set of assumption based on forecasted demand, continuous supply , transportation and logistics costs, number of SKUs, nature of demand etc. In real world these design parameters vary quite frequently,hence following the same network construct throughout leads to inefficiencies in supply chain. Therefore businesses need to follow an ongoing process of evaluating operational decisions with effect of planned changes such as promotions, new product introduction, seasonal demand patterns as well as unplanned changes such as manufacturing disruption, transportation interruptions etc. The best way to achieve this continuous supply chain synchronization is effective conception and execution of tactical planning model. Tactical Planning involves developing effective strategies across the supply chain over multiple time horizons that minimizes transportation, inventory and production costs or maximizes profit. At tactical level, decisions which are typically updated anywhere between once every week, once every month or once every year. These include purchasing and production decisions, inventory policies, and transportation strategies including the frequency with which customers are visited. Tactical Planning is extensively used in developed countries to derive maximum resource utilization in supply chain network

ThinkLink offers tactical planning solutions that help customers adopt and fine tune an efficient supply chain strategy periodically. Our solutions analyze the correlation and impact of production, warehousing, transportation, and inventory decisions on overall supply chain. These decisions are finalized taking into account the interaction between the various levels of the supply chain, using an optimization based Decision Support System. The resulting plan provides information on production quantities, shipment sizes and storage requirements by product, location, and time period.

Tactical planning tools can identify potential supply chain bottlenecks early in the planning process, allowing the planner to answer questions such as:

• When and where should the inventory for seasonal or promotional demand be built and stored?
• Can capacity problems be alleviated by rearranging warehouse territories?
• What impact do changes in the forecast have on the supply chain?
• What will be the impact of running overtime at the plants or outsourcing production?
• What plant should replenish each warehouse?