Supply Chain Optimisation Resource Plan
This is a practical guide to building a resource plan for a supply chain optimisation project — the people and resources needed, when, and how they are allocated, adapted to the realities of improving the efficiency and resilience of the supply chain.
What a Resource Plan is
A resource plan is the people and resources needed, when, and how they are allocated. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Resource Planning. On a supply chain optimisation project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Supply Chain Optimisation project
Supply Chain Optimisation projects live or die on improving the efficiency and resilience of the supply chain. A well-built resource plan gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how supply chain optimisation projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Roles and skills needed
- Allocation over time
- Capacity vs demand
- Resource calendar
Supply Chain Optimisation-specific considerations
Tailor the resource plan to the risks that most often derail supply chain optimisation projects:
- Data visibility
- Supplier coordination
- Change to established processes
Example
On a real supply chain optimisation project, the resource plan would be shaped by improving the efficiency and resilience of the supply chain. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — data visibility, supplier coordination, change to established processes — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.