Depot buffer levels set minimum and maximum inventories held at a depot.
Depot buffers can be set in terms of:
Absolute value, or
Days of Supply
The Days of Supply buffer is dynamically calculated based on demand; Bluefin use whichever of these two results in a higher buffer level.
Configuring Depot Buffers in Bluefin
For a single study:
In a study, click into the Distribution tab
Expand a depot
Click into Buffers
Set depot buffer min, max, and DoS as desired
To set depot/SKU defaults for all studies:
From the left-hand main menu, click Depots.
From your list of Depots, select the depot of interest.
Click the Buffer subtab link.
For each SKU, you can set the buffer at the depot.
Buffers are normally set in Days or Weeks of Supply.
For items with very low demand, it may make more sense to set buffer in absolute units (e.g. 15 means 15 units is the minimum buffer size).
Definition of Terms
Min Buffer: The minimum quantity remaining at a depot when a resupply arrives.
Max Buffer: The target -- and also maximum -- quantity of a SKU that will be held in inventory at a depot after resupply. Note that if insufficient material is available, the quantity after resupply may be short of this number.
Absolute and Days of Supply: Days of Supply is converted into a quantity based on demand within that window. Absolute refers to a specific number of units (only recommended when demand is very low, thus rendering the calculation unstable).
Reorder Point (RoP): The point in time at which a reorder is triggered, to ensure that supply arrives before the min stock is reached. This is automatically calculated by Bluefin based on a variety of factors, such as rate of demand and lead times.