Abs All Brake Systems

“Thanks to Slim4, the risk of obsolescence has been reduced to nil.”

Wouter Kothuis

Operations Director | ABS All Brake Systems

ABS All Brake Systems gurantees high availability despite their expanding range

For ABS All Brake Systems, maintaining consistently high levels of availability is critical. Despite a rapidly growing range, with help from Slimstock’s inventory optimisation solution, Slim4, the team at ABS All Brake Systems have managed to increase availability to over 95% whilst still reducing inventory cost.

ABS All Brake Systems supplies brake, steering and suspension parts, as well as wheel bearing kits to distributors and wholesalers across Europe. Due to how frequently new models are introduced, the range is growing at a steady rate with around 80 new SKU’s being added to the portfolio every week. The assortment now encompasses over 40,000 SKUs, of which around three quarters are held in stock at the central distribution centre in The Netherlands.

Consistent Availability

“In our market, it is crucial that we are able to deliver items as quickly as possible,” states Wouter Kothuis, Operations Director at ABS All Brake Systems. However, in order to be able to deliver customer orders quickly and reliably, the business depends upon a high level of availability. “This is easy for fast moving items. The real challenge lies in managing the exceptions. With Slimstock’s inventory optimisation software, Slim4, we now have the long tail under control and through taking into account the hard facts, we can ensure we hold the right levels of stock.” Since implementing Slim4, availability has increased by around 3% and now sits at over 95%. For Kothuis, it is the consistency of this availability level that is important: “Slim4 helps us ensure we offer high levels of availability throughout the year and as a result, we can see that our service levels and customer satisfaction are increasing.”

Mitigating Obsolescence

The stock value has increased from 6 million Euros to over 9 million euros within the last 5 years. “High levels of inventory do not harm us, in fact, they provide a strategic advantage. It is a sign of strength. After all, in this market, being able to deliver customer order as quickly as possible is critical to our success.” Kothuis goes on to explain; “For us, the profit lies in minimising inventory costs while simultaneously maximising our ability to meet the needs of our customers. And, thanks to Slim4, the risk of obsolescence has been mitigated. Furthermore, with the same team, we now achieve a much higher output.”

Slimstock: Our Knowledge Partner

Slim4 is recognised as an important tool by the whole team at ABS All Brake Systems. “There is no question that Slim4 is a very powerful tool. However, it is also important that our people know exactly what they are doing, and perhaps more importantly, why they are doing it.” The team of experts at Slimstock supported their ABC counterparts throughout the entire learning process; “Through sharing knowledge and information, we have evolved together.” Furthermore, with the latest release of Slim4, ABS All Brake Systems will also be able to encompass customer transaction data into their planning processes: “This will give us a real boost, allowing us to raise our performance to an even higher level,” concludes Kothuis.

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