What is Kinaxis RapidResponse?

What is Kinaxis RapidResponse?

Kinaxis RapidResponse is an innovative supply chain planning tool that enables seamless monitoring and swift response to DRP challenges. DRP means demand and distribution requirement planning. RapidResponse offers organizations an array of supply chain solutions with its all-in-one platform. This supply chain management software benefits organizations by providing a 33% reduction in finished goods, a 20% decrease in manufacturing lead times, and a 57% reduction in planning cycles.

History of Supply Chain Planning

The term "supply chain management" was coined in 1980, yet the concept is centuries old. Before the 1900s, the supply chain was limited to localized regions due to the need for large-scale transportation, such as railroads. Following the 1920s, mass production, container shipping, warehouse processes, and other components developed and took supply chains to an exponentially large level as technologies evolved. 

Inherent Challenges

The main challenges as the scale of the supply chain increased were cost control, warehouse management, planning and analytics, and real-time data management. Most of these issues have been solved today because of the ever-advancing technology and modernization.

Modernizing Planning

With the invention of computers in the 1980s, supply chain planning became much more efficient as spreadsheets, algorithms, and optimization models were developed to help with rapid planning. Supply chain planning, resource management, and forecasting became automized. As Enterprise Resource Planning systems developed, organizations began using supply chain management software to manage all activities, including finances, performance, centralizing data, and more.  

Top Kinaxis RapidResponse Features

Kinaxis RapidResponse comes with various features that allow it to help organizations with efficient supply chain planning. 

Top Concurrent Supply Chain Planning Tool

The Kinaxis Rapid Response software includes concurrent planning, meaning a change in one data point or set will automatically recalculate the entire plan. The software syncs the entire supply chain to keep up with the smallest of changes made to the plan. 

These are the additional features that users can use with Kinaxis RapidResponse:

• Sales and Operations Planning: Establish collaborative processes, evaluate choices, and align each plan with the relative financial goal. 
• Demand Planning: The rapid response demand planning establishes demand plans by combining past statistics and functional forecast streams.
• Supply Planning: Bridge gaps between demand and supply. Identify and avoid surplus or insufficient conditions.
• Inventory Planning: Develop inventory strategy by supporting customer services throughout the supply chain.
• Capacity Planning: Face changing conditions by determining constraints and modifying capacity accordingly.

Intuitive Dashboards

Kinaxis RapidResponse has dashboards that enable comprehensive analysis of plans at both the detailed planner level as well as the high-level executive view. By consolidating all relevant data in a single system, the dashboards provide real-time updates and facilitate comparison between different scenarios. 

With its drill-down feature, the supply chain management software allows for quick access to critical information, enabling root-cause analysis of problems. Be it obsolete inventory or KPIs, Kinaxis RapidResponse dashboards provide relevant insights.

Guided Process Steps

The platform has built-in guided process steps, which are extremely helpful for new employees. These guides are Task Flows that provide a step-by-step walk-through of specific planning tasks, such as generating the consensus demand plan. 

Each step of the task includes a link to the relevant dashboard, workbook, or scorecard required for its execution and a company-specific description of the objectives for that stage of the process. Additionally, every workbook includes detailed information about the specific data being displayed. The tool consolidates configuration rationale and provides thorough end-user help.

Exception-Based Alerts

Real-time exception-based alerts help users identify and resolve risks in time. Scorecard and worksheet-based alerts keep users focused on the data that matters most instead of trying to identify exceptions manually. Kinaxis RapidResponse provides solutions to each alert for easy resolution. 

Scenario Planning Capabilities

Kinaxis RapidResponse allows users to create public or private scenarios and further share them with others to develop an optimal plan and inform others who might be affected by the change. Once the plan is accepted, it can be set as the current operating plan. 

Users can compare multiple solutions for an issue by copying the scenario. The software will automatically track the changes made by each solution and help them settle for the best option. It is done through:

• Machine Learning: the software analyses complex dependencies or patterns to drive performance in a user-friendly manner.

How to Plan Promotional Increase in Kinaxis Rapid Response

To see how the demand and on-hand inventory might be affected if there was a promotional increase in demand, follow these steps:

Verify Consensus

After selecting the promotional increase demo, TaskFlow opens. Select the S&OP planner, verify the data settings, and change the 'view' section under Consensus Demand Plan from revenue to units. 

Identify Gaps

On the Consensus Demand Plan graph, identify the gap-to-plan, the orange part visible. Click on it, and the S&OP Consensus Demand Plan window will open.

Create New Scenarios 

On the S&OP Consensus Demand Plan, click on the scenario tab and create a new scenario.

Adjust Dates

In the updated plan, adjust the dates on which there will be a promotional increase.

Add Assumptions

Next, create an assumption. Start by mentioning the assumption, for example, a 15% increase, followed by changing the 'Status' to 'Open' and adding the dates on which the promotional increase is expected. Finally, click on 'Save.'

On the Consensus Demand Plan: Unit Summary, copy the unconstrained demand plan number for the day the promotional increase is set to start and paste them into the adjustment cell of the same date. Right-click on the number pasted and click on 'Edit Range.' Change 'Operations' to 'Multiply By,' and under 'Value,' add the decimal value of the increase. For example, if the promotional increase is 15%, write '.15'. 

Click Apply. Keep doing this for all the dates when the promotional increase is set to happen.

Add Risk Changes and Percentages

Observe the changes to the 'at risk percentages.' Verify them. After that, click on the at-risk percentage shown on the graph. It will open an S&OP Demand Plan Analysis tab. The yellow portions of the graph are the at-risk forecast.

Check Forecast Orders

Click on any of the at-risk forecasts and select 'Forecast Orders.' It will open a Demand Order Analysis – Demo tab. Under the forecast order tab, scroll to the right and observe the number of days late.

Check Corporate Metrics

Return to the main S&OP Demand Planner dashboard and click the 'Corporate Metrics' tab. Add the promotional increase scenario you created earlier to compare the before and after changes made to the corporate metrics.

Which Certificate Course is Best for Supply Chain Management?

Supply chain management depends on several factors other than planning. If you want to learn about supply chain management in-depth, you can choose the Post Graduate Program In Digital Supply Chain Management by Simplilearn. The course will enable you to build efficient digital supply chains and improve processes for your organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Kinaxis used for?

Kinaxis is an advanced supply chain planning software enabling organizations to automate their processes. It provides various supply chain planning solutions for efficient management.

2. Is Kinaxis an ERP?

Kinaxis integrates SAP, non-SAP data sources, and other ERPs like Oracle to unify the entire supply chain environment to make supply chain management more efficient.

3. What is the salary of Kinaxis' rapid response?

An employee who knows Kinaxis Rapid Response can earn an average of $65,408 annually. The figure can change according to the job role.

4. Is rapid response an ERP system?

Kinaxis Rapid Response is a full-featured Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

5. Is Kinaxis a SaaS?

Yes, Kinaxis a SaaS company. It provides cloud-based SaaS solutions to enterprises. 

6. Who uses Kinaxis?

The manufacturing industry mainly uses Kinaxis to automate processes. Industries like artificial intelligence and engineering can also use it for their supply chain management.

7. Is Kinaxis an MRP?

Kinaxis was first developed as an in-memory planning engine, delivering unmatched speed for material requirements planning (MRP) on their custom hardware. It then shifted from hardware to software and developed ERPs.

8. Is Kinaxis rapid response cloud-based?

Yes, Kinaxis RapidResponse is a cloud-based platform.