DDMRP Demand Driven Replenishment Planning Training Course

Course overview

Volatile demand, long supplier lead times and inherited planning parameters often leave supply chain teams expediting shortages while carrying stock that does not protect service. DDMRP provides a practical alternative to forecast-driven replenishment for suitable decoupling points: it positions strategic inventory buffers, sizes them from actual lead-time and variability factors, and triggers replenishment from qualified demand. This course helps planners and supply chain leaders decide where DDMRP fits, avoid treating it as a blanket inventory reduction programme, and build an operating model that responds to changing conditions.

Participants work through the five components of the Demand Driven Adaptive Enterprise model: strategic decoupling, buffer profiles and levels, dynamic buffer adjustments, demand-driven planning, and visible collaborative execution. They calculate red, yellow and green buffer zones; distinguish qualified demand from sales forecasts; interpret net flow position; set order-generation rules; and manage exception signals. The course also covers buffer positioning criteria, lead-time compression, bill-of-material considerations, supplier participation, and performance measures such as flow index, service attainment and inventory exposure.

Instructor-led sessions are supported by spreadsheet-based calculations, replenishment simulations and a multi-echelon case study spanning purchased components, production and distribution. Participants leave with a DDMRP buffer-design workbook, a decoupling-point map, replenishment policy rules and a 90-day implementation plan that can be adapted to their own product family or supply network.

The course is designed for experienced planning, procurement, manufacturing and logistics professionals who need to redesign replenishment decisions rather than merely improve forecast accuracy.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Map material flow and identify candidate strategic decoupling points across a multi-echelon supply network
• Calculate DDMRP buffer profiles and red, yellow and green zone levels using lead time, variability and order-cycle factors
• Apply qualified-demand rules to separate true replenishment requirements from forecast signals and demand spikes
• Evaluate net flow position and generate replenishment orders using demand-driven planning logic
• Design dynamic buffer-adjustment rules for seasonality, promotions, capacity changes and supply disruption
• Prioritise replenishment actions through buffer-status alerts, execution signals and flow-based exception management
• Build a DDMRP buffer-design workbook containing decoupling assumptions, parameter calculations and governance rules
• Develop a phased DDMRP pilot plan with data requirements, operating roles, performance measures and review cadence

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Supply Chain Managers — who must improve service and working-capital performance across planning, sourcing and operations
• Materials and Replenishment Planners — who set inventory parameters and release purchase or production replenishment signals
• Demand and Supply Planning Managers — who need to determine where forecast-led planning should be complemented by DDMRP
• Procurement and Category Managers — who manage supplier lead times, order constraints and collaborative replenishment agreements
• Production Planners and Master Schedulers — who must stabilise material availability and sequence work against real demand
• Distribution and Inventory Managers — who oversee stock positioning, allocation decisions and network-level service performance

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience in supply, material, production or inventory planning and be comfortable reading bills of materials, lead times, safety-stock settings, minimum order quantities and basic demand data. Familiarity with MRP logic, ERP planning screens and spreadsheet formulas is assumed, as participants will compare conventional planning parameters with DDMRP calculations. Bring a laptop with Microsoft Excel or equivalent spreadsheet software for the exercises. Prior DDMRP certification, programming ability, statistical forecasting expertise and access to a live ERP system are not required.

Training methodology

The five-day programme combines facilitated instruction with calculation workshops, replenishment simulations and a continuing supply-network case. Participants use a buffer-design spreadsheet to map bills of materials, test decoupling alternatives, calculate buffer zones and respond to changing demand and supply conditions. Small groups compare planning decisions under MRP and DDMRP logic, then present their proposed policies for supplier, production and distribution nodes. The final session converts the case method into an application plan, including data checks, pilot scope, roles, measures and review routines.

Course outline

Day 1: DDMRP foundations and strategic decoupling

• Limitations of forecast-driven MRP in volatile supply environments
• The five components of the Demand Driven Adaptive Enterprise model
• Demand-driven operating model and flow-based planning principles
• Material-flow mapping across supplier, manufacturing and distribution nodes
• Strategic decoupling point criteria and inventory positioning logic
• Decoupled lead time versus cumulative lead time
• DDMRP suitability assessment for products, networks and constraints

Workshop: Participants map a multi-level product flow and produce a proposed decoupling-point map with written selection rationale.

Day 2: Buffer profiles, zones and parameter calculation

• Buffer profile selection by item type, variability and replenishment behaviour
• Lead-time factor calculation and decoupled lead-time analysis
• Variability factor selection for demand and supply conditions
• Order-cycle factor and minimum-order-quantity considerations
• Red base, red safety and red top zone calculations
• Yellow zone sizing and replenishment frequency design
• Green zone sizing for order quantities and operating constraints

Workshop: Participants calculate red, yellow and green buffer levels for a purchased component and create a documented buffer profile.

Day 3: Demand-driven planning and replenishment generation

• Qualified demand rules and demand-order decoupling
• Sales orders, forecasts, spikes and dependent-demand treatment
• Net flow position calculation and interpretation
• Available stock, open supply and qualified-demand data inputs
• Replenishment order generation from top-of-green logic
• Demand-driven explosion through bills of materials
• Planning parameter comparison between DDMRP and conventional MRP

Workshop: Participants process changing demand and supply transactions in a replenishment simulation and produce an order-release recommendation.

Day 4: Dynamic adjustments and visible collaborative execution

• Dynamic buffer adjustments for seasonal and planned demand changes
• Planned adjustment factors and adjustment horizons
• Demand adjustment factors for promotions and short-term events
• Supply adjustment factors for disruptions and lead-time shifts
• Buffer status alerts and execution priority rules
• Synchronised replenishment with suppliers and production resources
• Flow-based performance measures including flow index and service attainment

Workshop: Participants respond to a supplier disruption and promotion scenario, producing revised buffer adjustments and an execution-priority board.

Day 5: Implementation, governance and pilot design

• DDMRP master-data requirements and data-quality checks
• ERP and planning-system configuration considerations
• Pilot scope selection by product family, site and supply risk
• Roles for planners, buyers, schedulers, suppliers and leaders
• Buffer review cadence, parameter governance and change control
• Business-case measures for inventory, service, expedites and flow
• DDMRP deployment risks, adoption barriers and mitigation actions

Workshop: Participants build a 90-day DDMRP pilot plan containing scope, data actions, buffer ownership, measures, milestones and governance reviews.

Tools & standards covered

Microsoft Excel, SAP S/4HANA, Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain Planning, Demand Driven Institute DDMRP Model

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions