End-to-end visibility system tracking the full paper supply chain — from purchase order to production consumption — built after a real production stoppage exposed a critical gap in supply chain visibility. Result: zero stockout-related production stoppages.
A real production halt caused by paper stockout made the problem impossible to ignore. The root cause wasn't a procurement failure — it was a visibility failure. Nobody had a clear picture of how much paper was in transit, how much was in warehouse, how much each active job would consume, or when the next delivery was actually arriving. With lead times up to 12 weeks and global disruptions like the Suez Canal closure compressing supply windows unpredictably, the gap between what was ordered and what was available in time could stop the plant entirely. This project was the structural answer to that problem.
Paper ordered from international suppliers had lead times of up to 12 weeks. There was no system tracking what was in transit, what port it was at, or when it would realistically arrive at the plant — only the original purchase order date.
Planned paper consumption per job didn't match actual consumption. No reconciliation between what production said it would use and what it actually used — leading to phantom inventory and incorrect reorder calculations.
Purchase orders, warehouse stock, in-transit inventory and production consumption existed in separate places — nobody could see the full picture at once. Decisions were made with incomplete information.
Global supply chain events — including the Suez Canal closure — could add weeks to lead times with no warning. A system relying on fixed lead time assumptions had no way to adapt when those assumptions broke down.
Actual waste per job logged and compared against standard allowances — exposing which jobs or machines were generating above-average scrap and why.
Paper format assignments reviewed against job specs to minimize offcuts — ensuring rolls and sheets were allocated to jobs that maximized utilization of each reference.
Each production order matched to the exact paper reference it required — preventing substitutions that caused quality issues or inflated consumption of scarce grades.
Excel as the primary interface — structured workbook with tabs per flow stage, cross-referenced with array formulas to keep all views consistent from a single data entry point.
Macros handling data validation, automatic alerts when stock fell below safety thresholds, and consolidation of daily updates from production and warehouse into the central tracker.
Direct queries to the ERP database for purchase order status, warehouse movements and production job data — eliminating manual re-entry and keeping the tool in sync with operational reality.
Production stoppages don't happen because companies run out of paper — they happen because nobody could see it coming. This project solved a visibility problem masquerading as a procurement problem. By building a system that tracked every kilogram of paper from the supplier's floor to the production job that consumed it — including real-time transit status across suppliers with 12-week lead times and exposure to global disruptions — the tool turned a reactive firefighting process into a structured, data-driven supply assurance system.