Why this reassessment started

• Tell me briefly how this reassessment began and who raised it
• When did the triggering event occur, and what immediate operational impact did it have Options: Within last 2 weeks, Within last month, 1-3 months ago, 3-6 months ago, Longer than 6 months
• Which of these strategic triggers best matches your situation Options: Tariff or trade change, Acquisition or merger, Plant capacity constraint, Board directive on carbon, Service failure or customer complaint, Other
• Who on your leadership team is most accountable for the decision to re-evaluate the network Options: VP Supply Chain Strategy, Head of Operations, CFO, Network Design Manager, Head of Logistics, Other
• How urgent is the timeline from the board or executive team, within 4 weeks, 4 to 12 weeks, 3 to 6 months, or longer Options: Within 4 weeks, 4 to 12 weeks, 3 to 6 months, Longer than 6 months, No fixed timeline
• If you had to present a recommendation to the board next quarter, what single outcome would make them approve it

Where the network is creating measurable pain

• What single operational failure in your current network would make you stop and rethink everything
• Describe the last time a plant capacity constraint forced you to expedite shipments or miss service commitments
• In a typical quarter, how many shipments require exception routing or last-minute carrier changes Options: Less than 0.5%, 0.5% to 1%, 1% to 3%, 3% to 5%, More than 5%
• Which customers or SKUs are most sensitive to a change in allocation or transit time
• Who owns the escalation when service levels fall below target, and how long before leadership is involved
• What would have to break in the next 90 days to make you cancel any planned network change

Is your data reliable enough to be the baseline

• Why should we accept your ERP and TMS history as the truthful baseline for optimization
• List the systems and data extracts we will need, for example shipment history, master locations, and carrier rate tables
• When was your last reconciliation between ERP shipments and TMS execution logs Options: Within last 2 weeks, Within last month, 1-3 months ago, More than 3 months ago, Not reconciled
• Walk me through a typical data extraction, who runs it and how long does it take
• Name the role that can grant data extracts and API access within two weeks
• If we cannot get clean shipment history for two key regions, what is your fallback to still run a meaningful pilot

Practical constraints that will reshape any recommendation

• Point to the contracts, leases, or regulatory rules that would force the model to avoid certain facility moves
• Are any carrier contracts non-negotiable for the next 12 months Options: Yes, No, Partially, some lanes only, Not sure
• Do you have lease exit penalties or labor agreements tied to specific sites that we must model Options: Yes, major penalties, Yes, minor penalties, No, Unsure
• How many internal IT or analytics FTEs can be dedicated to the pilot and subsequent implementation Options: 0, 1, 2-3, 4-6, 7 or more
• Provide the role that will be responsible for granting facility access and operational data during a transition
• Is there any legal, compliance, or landlord approval that would block implementation within 12 months Options: Yes, No, Possibly, depends on site, Unknown

The alternatives you are weighing

• Name the external vendors, incumbent providers, and internal teams you are actively considering for this work
• For each incumbent or in-house option, what would have to be true for you to stay with them instead of choosing an external engagement
• Has any internal team proposed solving this without an outside vendor, and what resources would they need to succeed Options: Yes, skilled internal team exists, Yes, but would need more headcount, No internal proposal, Unsure
• What vendor proof points would make you drop the internal option Options: Faster baseline build on our data, Lower total cost, References from our industry, Proven implementation outcomes, Transparent assumptions
• What would have to appear in the incumbent's proposal by your next review date for you to cancel the external pilot

Metrics and evidence the board will expect

• What are the three metrics the CFO will insist any recommendation must move to get approval
• Over what timeframe will leadership expect to see realized cost savings or service improvements Options: 0 to 3 months, 3 to 6 months, 6 to 12 months, 12 months plus, Depends on recommendation
• How do you currently calculate total landed cost, and which cost buckets are tracked centrally
• List the KPIs for carbon, service, cost, and working capital that matter for this decision
• Would executives accept a small cost increase in exchange for large carbon reduction or improved service Options: Yes, Maybe, with quantification, No, Depends on magnitude
• What single metric, if achieved, would allow the board to approve implementation without additional pilots

Who must be aligned for a fast approval

• Identify the two roles whose alignment is most critical to approve a pilot and the one person who signs contracts
• Describe procurement's scoring process for vendor proposals and their top disqualifiers
• Point out the stakeholder most likely to block a change and summarize their main concerns
• Provide the title of the role that can approve expansion immediately if the pilot meets acceptance
• Identify the role or committee that can immediately stop the project and explain on what grounds they would do so

Pilot scope, timing, and must-haves to get decision-ready

• What constraints on timeline or deliverables would force you to delay a pilot
• Specify the minimum pilot length you believe will produce decision-grade outputs, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, or other Options: 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, Longer than 8 weeks, Depends on data readiness
• Select the data domains that must be included in the pilot Options: Shipment history, SKU master, Facility costs, Carrier rates, Inventory positions, Customer service agreements
• Provide the role that will be available daily for troubleshooting and model validation during the pilot
• Assuming pilot acceptance, what approvals are required to move to paid implementation within 30 days
• In the event the pilot cannot run on live ERP or TMS extracts, will you accept a synthetic or sample-based pilot instead Options: Yes, acceptable, Only for initial diagnostics, No, must be live data, Unsure

• Solution Walkthrough: Baseline and Scenario Validation

• Confirm the current state and its cost to your team
• You confirm the baseline reproduces your current shipment flows and cost structure to your satisfaction.
• Provide the agreed sample ERP and TMS extracts plus any known rate cards or contract constraints for the pilot baseline.
• Deliver a validated baseline model file and a side-by-side scenario comparison report for review before the follow-up meeting.
• Walk the baseline build using a sample of your ERP and TMS data
• You confirm that the scenario comparisons surface the cost, service, and carbon trade-offs the CFO and board will require to decide.
• Validate assumptions and constraints in the baseline
• You identify any remaining data or assumption gaps that must be closed before a commercial decision.
• Document the board decision criteria and any hard constraints (for example lease expirations or minimum service levels) that must be reflected in final recommendations.
• Run representative scenarios and compare outcomes
• Confirm decision-readiness and evidence gaps
• Validation question: Is this what you meant when you said you needed board-grade recommendations that model tax, service, and capacity constraints?

• Solution Walkthrough: Baseline and Scenario Validation
• Solution Experience Deck
• Solution Brief: Baseline and Scenario Walkthrough

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Ingest and Clean ERP and TMS Shipment Data
• Automated Baseline Network Model Build
• Calibrate Transportation and Facility Cost Model
• Incorporate Carrier Contracts and Customer Service Commitments
• Model Facility Location and Consolidation Optimization
• Optimize Inventory Positioning and Safety Stock
• Model Plant Production Capacity and Constraints
• Simulate Tariff, Tax, and Trade Policy Impacts
• Optimize Transportation Modes and Routing Shifts
• Run Scenario Comparison and Cost‑Service Tradeoff Report
• Perform Sensitivity and Reliability Stress Tests
• Validate Model Outputs Against Historical Shipments
• Deliver Board‑Ready Executive Visualizations and Slides
• Produce Implementation Roadmap with Phased Cutover Plan

Ingest and Clean ERP and TMS Shipment Data

• Which export formats will you supply for your ERP and TMS shipment history (for example: flat CSV exports, SQL dump, EDI 214/940 extracts)? Options: CSV export, Database dump (SQL), EDI extract, Other (describe)
• How many months of TMS shipment history (pickup date through delivery) will you provide for baseline build? Options: 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24+ months
• Do you have a SKU or material master from your ERP that maps product to product family and commodity (include file name or table name, e.g., material_master.csv)? Options: Yes, No
• Provide the sample file name or path for the primary shipment file we should ingest (for example: /exports/tms_shipments_2025.csv).
• Specify the minimum data completeness threshold we should meet for key fields (origin, destination, SKU, weight, freight cost) to proceed with baseline modelling (enter a percent, e.g., 95%). Options: 90%, 95%, 98%, Custom (enter)

Automated Baseline Network Model Build

• Describe the timeline you expect for the baseline model delivery (for example: baseline model delivered within 10 business days from complete data handoff). Options: 5-7 business days, 8-10 business days, 11-15 business days, Custom
• Specify which modules the baseline must include (facility assignment, transport costing, inventory positions, production allocation). Options: Facility assignment, Transport costing, Inventory positions, Production allocation
• Identify the SKU aggregation level to model as baseline (individual SKU, product family, or volume-band buckets) and provide an example SKU or family code from your ERP. Options: Individual SKU, Product family, Volume/weight buckets, Custom
• Who will be the single-day contact for model validation questions (role and email) and who will be enabled to approve baseline assumptions?
• What acceptance criteria will confirm the baseline model is validated against your ERP/TMS history (for example: shipment-level cost variance <= X% and origin-destination assignment match >= Y%)? Options: Cost variance <=5% and assignment match >=90%, Cost variance <=10% and assignment match >=80%, Custom (enter thresholds)

Calibrate Transportation and Facility Cost Model

• List the carrier rate tables, lane tariff files, or sample invoices you will provide to calibrate lanes (include file names or contract IDs).
• Indicate which facility cost components you can provide per site (rent $/sqft, handling $/pallet, utility allocation, fixed overhead). Options: Rent $/sqft, Handling $/pallet, Utilities allocation, Fixed overhead
• Provide an example carrier invoice or rate quote file name we should use to calibrate accessorials and weight-brackets (for example: carrier_invoice_Jan2025.pdf).
• Describe any palletization, cube-out, or minimum-billable-weight rules that must be encoded in cost calibration (for example: TL minimum 18 pallets, parcel dimensional weight rules).
• Specify any constraints on the cost model such as embargoed geographies, mandated intermodal legs, or contractually fixed lane rates (list constraint and affected lanes by origin-destination code).

Incorporate Carrier Contracts and Customer Service Commitments

• List active carrier contract IDs and their effective/expiration dates to be modeled (include contract file names if available).
• Name the customer service SLAs to enforce by channel or customer (for example: retail partner OTIF 98%, distributor next-day for Zone A).
• Confirm whether delivery appointment windows, dock appointment constraints, or appointment lead-times are enforced by specific sites (list site codes with constraints). Options: Yes, site-specific windows, No, generic windows, Some sites only (list)
• Explain how accessorials are billed in your contracts (per shipment flat fee, per weight band, per pallet, or percentage surcharge) and provide example billing rules. Options: Flat per shipment, Per weight band, Per pallet, Percentage surcharge
• Identify any lanes or customers with exclusive carrier commitments or capacity reservation clauses that must remain in-scope as constraints. Options: Yes, list lanes, No exclusives, Partial—list exceptions

Model Facility Location and Consolidation Optimization

• Provide the list of candidate sites to consider with facility codes and full addresses (for example: DC-01, 123 Logistics Way).
• Enter lease end dates, minimum occupancy obligations, or break-clauses for each existing facility to be modeled.
• Outline local constraints relevant to siting such as labor pool limits, loading-bay counts, FTZ (Foreign Trade Zone) status, or hazardous materials restrictions by site.
• Specify the maximum customer transit time or service radius to apply per region (for example: Metro West customers <= 18 hours transit). Options: By minutes (drive time), By miles, By service-hours
• Who holds authority to approve a facility consolidation or closure recommendation (role/title) and what minimum notice period is contractually required before closure?

Optimize Inventory Positioning and Safety Stock

• Provide your current safety stock policy expressed as days of cover or target service level per SKU or product family (attach sample table name). Options: Days of cover per SKU, Service level per SKU, Per product family, Custom
• Identify which ERP inventory fields you will supply for each SKU (on-hand, allocated, in-transit, committed, reorder point). Options: On-hand, Allocated, In-transit, Committed, Reorder point
• State the target fill-rate or service level by channel that the inventory optimization must honor (for example: e-commerce 99%, wholesale 95%). Options: E-commerce 99%, Retail 98%, Wholesale 95%, Custom
• List any quarantined SKUs, controlled goods, or frozen inventory that cannot be moved between sites and should be excluded from repositioning. Options: Yes—list SKUs, No
• Provide average replenishment lead times from each plant to each distribution center in days to be used for safety stock calculation.

Model Plant Production Capacity and Constraints

• For each manufacturing plant, enter weekly production capacity by SKU or product family (for example: Plant A = 50,000 units/week for SKU-123).
• Indicate whether a master production schedule (MPS) or finite capacity plan export is available from your ERP and provide file name if available. Options: MPS export available, Finite capacity file available, No MPS available
• Describe any planned shutdowns, seasonal ramps, or known overtime windows in the modelling horizon that affect plant throughput.
• Specify lot-sizing or minimum run quantities for production that impose allocation granularity (for example: minimum production run 10,000 units per batch).
• Provide labor constraints as FTEs or shifts per day per plant that we must model (include file or table name if present).

Simulate Tariff, Tax, and Trade Policy Impacts

• Provide a list of SKUs with Harmonized System (HS) codes and current duty rates to include in tariff simulations (attach file name).
• Select the tariff or trade-policy scenarios to simulate (for example: 10% additional duty on HS 84xx, removal of duty on region X). Options: Specific HS code increase, Country-level tariffs, FTZ utilization, Other
• Confirm whether bonded inventory, Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), or duty deferral arrangements exist that alter landed cost calculations. Options: FTZ exists — details provided, No FTZ, Partial—site list provided
• Identify ports of entry, customs broker fees, and inland duty reassessment rules that should be included in landed cost per SKU.

Optimize Transportation Modes and Routing Shifts

• For each key lane, provide historical mode split and average transit time from your TMS (attach lane-level sample or file name).
• Select which modes are available for re-optimization on a lane basis (truckload, less-than-truckload, intermodal, parcel). Options: Truckload (TL), Less-than-truckload (LTL), Intermodal, Parcel
• List any mode-specific constraints such as minimum pallets per TL, intermodal rail availability windows, or parcel dimensional weight rules.
• Indicate whether private fleet capacity or dedicated lanes should remain in the model as fixed constraints (please name fleet ID or lane codes). Options: Yes—list fleet/lane IDs, No
• Provide sample rate cards or lane quotes we should use to model mode cost differences (file names or lane IDs).

Run Scenario Comparison and Cost‑Service Tradeoff Report

• Choose which scenarios to run from this list (facility consolidation, nearshoring, mode shift, increased service level) or add custom scenario names. Options: Facility consolidation, Nearshoring, Mode shift, Increase service level, Custom
• Select the multi-year horizon for cost comparison and whether to annualize savings (for example: 1-year, 3-year, 5-year). Options: 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, Custom
• Specify the financial assumptions to apply when computing NPV (discount rate, escalation for labor and fuel). Options: Standard discount 8%, Custom discount (enter)
• Indicate the materiality thresholds that should flag a scenario as 'decision-relevant' (for example: >$500,000 annualized cost delta or >1.0 percentage point service change).
• Select preferred delivery formats for scenario outputs (interactive dashboard, Excel export with lane-level detail, slide appendix). Options: Interactive dashboard, Excel export, Slide appendix (PPT/PDF)

Perform Sensitivity and Reliability Stress Tests

• List the model parameters to stress-test and the ranges to sweep (for example: demand +/- 20%, fuel +/- 30%, transit time +/- 2 days).
• Indicate whether you require probabilistic (Monte Carlo) sampling or deterministic worst-case scenario sweeps for reliability analysis. Options: Probabilistic (Monte Carlo), Deterministic sweeps, Both
• For SKU-level sensitivity, specify critical volume thresholds that would change facility assignment (for example: SKU monthly volume > 10,000 units).
• Identify contract reset or renegotiation dates that should be modeled as potential rate-change events in stress tests.
• Enter the number of scenario iterations you expect for reliable reporting (examples: 100, 500, 1,000). Options: 100, 500, 1,000, Custom

Validate Model Outputs Against Historical Shipments

• Select the historical KPIs the validation must match (total annual freight spend, average transit days, on-time percent). Options: Annual freight spend, Average transit days, On-time percent (OTIF), Other
• Provide the file path or sample name for the master historical shipment file to use for validation (for example: /exports/tms_master_2024.csv).
• Specify the tolerance levels that will define acceptable validation (for example: cost variance <=5%, assignment match >=90%). Options: Cost variance <=5% & assignment match >=90%, Cost variance <=10% & assignment match >=80%, Custom (enter)
• Name the role/title who will sign off on validation results and the expected turnaround time for review (for example: VP Supply Chain within 5 business days).
• List any known historical anomalies to exclude from validation (promotional bulk shipments, one‑time moves, data gaps) and provide example shipment IDs if available.

Deliver Board‑Ready Executive Visualizations and Slides

• Identify the executive audiences and the primary metric each requires (for example: CFO—cash impact; COO—service OTIF; Head of Logistics—operational feasibility).

• success_criteria
• desired_state
• current_state
• decision_readiness
• stakeholders
• gaps
• stakeholders
• success_criteria
• decision_readiness
• current_state
• desired_state
• gaps
• decision_readiness
• current_state
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness

• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Order Form / Subscription Agreement
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
• Data Access Authorization
• Acceptance Criteria & Model Validation Plan
• Payment Schedule & Invoicing Terms
• Change Order Agreement
• Regulatory Compliance Addendum
• Termination & Refund Schedule

• Go-Live Health Check
• First Measurement Review
• Acceptance Gate — Outcome Acceptance
• Quarterly Realization Review
• Annual Impact and Lessons Review

• Close or advance the top three open issues with updated target resolution dates.
• Publish the acceptance decision record including pass/fail outcomes and remediation timelines.
• If incumbent is retired, execute archive and read-only retention steps and confirm access revocation for edit rights.
• Open remediation tickets for any failed criteria with target resolution dates and required evidence.
• Reduce the open-issue backlog by agreeing on top remediation items and delivery windows.
• Trend review of realization metrics
• Validate whether quarter-to-date realization metrics meet expectations set in Pilot Evaluation or require corrective action.
• Have a prioritized list of enhancement requests with tentative delivery windows for the implementation team.
• Reconfirm success criteria and owners
• Publish the prioritized enhancement backlog and estimated delivery quarter.
• Schedule the next quarterly realization review and circulate the data package two weeks prior.
• Annual outcomes versus Pilot Evaluation targets
• Validate the annual realized impact against Pilot Evaluation targets and document the delta.
• Produce a concise lessons-learned summary with recommended operating-model changes.
• Agree the ongoing governance and contact points for issue escalation and enhancement requests.
• Publish the annual impact report with metric evidence and the lessons-learned summary.
• Create a prioritized multi-quarter enhancement plan addressing the top risks to sustained realization.
• Confirm and document the ongoing monitoring cadence and the shared channel for issue and enhancement tracking.
• All required data connections and baseline model jobs are verified as operational or have mitigation plans.
• Immediate blockers are logged with remediation actions and target resolution dates.
• Training and access gaps that would hinder measurement are identified and scheduled for completion.
• Run the agreed baseline data extract and deliver validation report ahead of the first measurement meeting.
• Resolve critical data-connection or model failures and update the remediation log with dates.
• Publish user access and training completion summary for the buyer team.
• Present measured outcomes versus Pilot Evaluation targets
• Decide a set of prioritized corrective actions for any metrics not meeting targets recorded in Pilot Evaluation.
• Set dates for required data refreshes and model reruns needed before the acceptance gate.
• Confirm the evidence package required for the Acceptance Gate meeting.
• Deliver a revised measurement report with post-correction projections and data snapshots by the agreed date.
• Implement specified model parameter adjustments and record the change log for verification.
• Schedule the next data pull and model rerun to produce acceptance-evidence datasets.
• Restate acceptance criteria and numeric targets
• Formal acceptance decision recorded for each acceptance criterion recorded in Pilot Evaluation, with remediation items and dates for any fails.
• Buyer designates a named signatory to confirm the enterprise acceptance decision and the record is published.
• Incumbent retirement or retention plan is confirmed and documented to avoid parallel work streams.
• Deployment and data-connection validation
• Open issues and ticket burn-down
• Lessons learned and operational changes
• Present final measurement evidence against each criterion
• Root-cause diagnosis for each variance
• Enhancement requests and prioritization
• Risk register and long-term enhancements
• Agree corrective actions and timelines
• User access, training, and initial adoption signals
• Document pass/fail per criterion and remediation plan
• Confirm readiness for Acceptance Gate
• Confirm next-quarter targets and responsibilities
• Signatory acceptance and documentation
• Agree ongoing cadence and handoff for continuous improvement
• Early anomalies and error triage
• Blockers and remediation plan
• Incumbent retirement confirmation