Founder of SCM LAB
Sina Alipoor
Founder & Supply Chain Architect
Sina Alipoor is the founder of SCM LAB, a lab for supply chain consulting, training and tools. His focus is turning the supply chain from a cost center into a genuine competitive advantage.
His name is also written Sina Alipour, and in Persian as «سینا علیپور» or «سینا علیپور».
His work at SCM LAB
- Designing and leading supply chain consulting engagements across planning, procurement, logistics and S&OP/IBP.
- Developing the DDIT methodology that underpins SCM LAB's consulting and training content.
- Building the academy, free tools and knowledge library for Persian-speaking supply chain professionals.
Areas of expertise
- Supply chain management
- Demand & supply planning
- S&OP / IBP
- Procurement & sourcing
- Network design & logistics
Articles by Sina Alipoor
Everything Sina Alipoor has written on planning, procurement, logistics and S&OP at SCM LAB:
- The Kraljic Matrix: Segmenting Purchases and Setting a Strategy for Each
- Supply Contract Types and Risk Sharing: Fixed Price, Committed Volume and Flexible Contracts
- Inventory Turnover and Days of Inventory (DIO): Turning the Number Into a Decision
- Reorder Point and Min-Max: Which Inventory Policy Fits Which Item?
- Supplier Scorecards: The Metrics That Actually Change Supplier Behavior
- Reducing Lead-Time Variability: The Cheapest Way to Cut Safety Stock
- Make or Buy Decisions: A Framework Beyond Cost Comparison
- Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI): When It Works and When It Doesn't
- Forecasting Demand for a New Product When There Is No Sales History
- Cross-Docking vs Traditional Warehousing: When Storing Goods Isn't Necessary at All
- Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in Procurement: Why the Lowest Price Is Often the Most Expensive Choice
- Cycle Counting and Inventory Accuracy: Why an Annual Stocktake Is Not Enough
- The Supply Chain Risk Register: From a List of Fears to an Action Plan
- Choosing a Freight Mode: Why the Cheapest Rate Is Not Always the Cheapest Option
- Collaborative Planning with Trading Partners (CPFR): From Sharing Data to Joint Decisions
- Reverse Logistics and Returns Management: Where Does the Value Go When Goods Come Back?
- Preparing for Supplier Negotiations: BATNA, ZOPA and What You Must Know Before the Meeting
- Warehouse Slotting: Cutting Travel and Picking Time Through Better Placement
- The S&OP Maturity Model: How to Assess Your Current Level and Choose the Next Step
- Slow-Moving and Obsolete Inventory: Spotting and Managing It Before It Becomes a Write-Off
- Supplier Development: When Replacing the Supplier Isn't an Option, Improving It Is
- Who Owns the Forecast? Roles and Responsibilities in Demand Planning
- Order Promising (ATP and CTP): How to Give Delivery Dates You Can Keep
- Forecasting Intermittent Demand: Why Moving Averages Fail on Slow-Selling Parts
- Spare Parts and MRO Inventory: Balancing the Cost of Downtime Against the Cost of Holding
- Milk Runs and Consolidated Inbound Transport: Cutting Freight Cost With Shared Supplier Routes
- Designing a Supply Chain KPI Dashboard: Show Less, Decide More
- Cycle Service Level vs Fill Rate: Two Numbers Often Mistaken for One
- Kanban Replenishment: When the Simplest System Is the Best One
- Qualifying and Onboarding a New Supplier: A Checklist Before the First Order
- Moving From Excel to a Planning System: When It's Needed and How Not to Fail
- ABC-XYZ Inventory Analysis: Setting a Different Policy for Different Items
- Warehouse KPIs: Picking Accuracy, Dock-to-Stock and Space Utilization
- OTIF and Service Level: Why 'On-Time Delivery' Alone Is Not Enough
- Measuring Demand Forecast Accuracy: Why MAPE Alone Is Misleading
- The Bullwhip Effect: Why Small Demand Swings Turn Into Inventory Crises
- Economic Order Quantity (EOQ): The Formula, Its Assumptions, and Where It Breaks in Practice
- What Is Safety Stock and How Do You Calculate It? A Practical Guide for Planners
- How Many Warehouses Does Your Network Actually Need? A Decision Framework, Not a Formula
- Multi-Warehouse Distribution Networks: Getting the Design Right Before Optimizing Transport
- Project-Based Procurement in Construction and EPC Industries
- Cash Conversion Cycle: The Three Numbers Supply Chain, Not Just Finance, Controls
- Pharmaceutical Supply Chains: GMP/GDP Compliance and Batch Traceability
- How to Measure Supply Chain Resilience, Not Just Talk About It
- Food Industry Supply Chains: Managing Perishability and Service-Level Trade-offs
- DDMRP vs. Traditional MRP: Which One Fits Your Portfolio?
- How to Implement S&OP in 90 Days: A Practical Rollout Plan
- S&OP vs. IBP: Which One Does Your Organization Actually Need?
- What Is S&OP? A Complete Guide to Sales & Operations Planning
- S&OP in Practice: Why Most Attempts Become a Reporting Meeting
- Why Most Supply Chain Transformation Projects Fail
- The Future of Resilient Supply Chains
- Supplier Risk Management in a Volatile World
- AI and Data: The New Edge in SCM
- Digital Transformation in Supply Chain: Where to Start
- From Complexity to Clarity: Designing Smarter Networks
- Working Capital Optimization Through the Supply Chain
- Procurement as a Strategic Lever
Articles by Sina Alipoor in the press
Pieces by Sina Alipoor published in economic newspapers and media outlets:
- The Last Fortification Is the Dinner TableJahan-e SanatFood-supply fragility from the siege of Leningrad to Iran's economy today, and a "table doctrine" built on transparency, decentralised reserves and financial-flow management.
- Production at the Cost of Future CapacityTejarat-e FardaIndustrial firms get through crises with short-term emergency fixes while eroding future decision-making and growth capacity; real resilience goes beyond keeping operations running.