All industries covered
While they were all from diverse backgrounds such as F&B, automotive, pharmaceutical and safety equipment, the participants had common frustrations, that is, managing short shelf lives, obsolescence, one-off items, urgent and ad-hoc requirements, S&OP processes, safety stock and working capital reduction. Essentially, everyone realised that small inefficiencies in inventory management can balloon into major cost penalties at the end of the day.
Understocking generally means missed revenues, and in certain industries, monetary penalties will be imposed. Overstocking, for the fresh food industry, would mean food gone to waste. For the automotive industry, overstocking would mean freezing up of working capital and increasing potentially obsolete inventory. The key is to minimise obsolete stock as well as to maximise revenue opportunities through reducing lost sales. This can be done by developing more timely and reliable forecasts. Slimstock shared its Building Blocks model – strategies that participants could leverage to achieve better forecasts – ensuring the right assortment mix, increasing the reliability of physical and system data, and capturing relevant planning parameters.
Overall, the Roundtable received positive and encouraging feedback, with additional wishes for future events. It was a fruitful session for all participants and Slimstock, and we look forward to organizing more sessions across various APAC cities every quarter!
For more information on how availability of items is related to increases in turnover download the following article.
