How do you rebuild a city after it’s been hit by a hurricane?

How do you modernize an old city that grew too fast – and is growing still?

Materials companies face these and many other challenging planning puzzles as they struggle to coordinate their production efforts at multiple locations across the globe and keep costs at an acceptable level.

Sourcing challenges and high costs

Initial investment by materials manufacturers is very high. A single cement plant could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Where you choose to locate that plant can affect your business’ operations in both the short and long term.

Read also: How can we build better cities?

Another challenge is sourcing raw materials needed to produce high-quality construction materials. Depending on which region of the world your company is operating in, supply can be a struggle. This can cause costs to skyrocket. Manufacturers want to avoid ordering the wrong quantity of supplies and hurting their own operations. Progress can also be hindered by economic, environmental or political changes.

So how do you stay agile when you have limited control over external factors?

Invest in advanced planning and optimization technologies. Technologies with integrated planning, capacity utilization, demand forecasting and scenario planning will help production planners react in real-time to changing circumstances.

Streamline your supply chain for efficient production

Making your supply chain more efficient will contribute to lowering overall costs. It would mean having the right amount of inventory and resources at the right time. You could predict demand more accurately thereby cutting over costs and increasing profits.

Bottom line is, improving your supply chain agility and flexibility today will enable you to keep up with the industry’s ever-changing landscape.

What are your thoughts on improving production planning in the building materials industry? Let us know in your comments below or tweet us at @Quintiq.