Ameel Candy World

Looking ahead means responding, and if there is one organisation that has mastered this approach, it is Ameel Candy World. The Belgian one-stop shop specialises in B2B sales and delivery of confectionery, snacks and beverages. From its distribution centre in Roeselare, Belgium, it serves numerous retailers every day, ranging from local shops and petrol stations to grocery stores and market vendors. And not only throughout Belgium, the Netherlands and parts of France, but also worldwide in terms of shipping.

“Our sales area and target group are very broad. We supply supermarkets, but also hospitals and sports clubs. Our customers are everywhere and everyone has a different purchase volume,” says Filip Van Vyve. He works as Senior Purchase Manager at Ameel Candy World and immediately emphasises the importance of having the right stock. “Our products only have a shelf life of eight to ten weeks, so we often deal with small volumes. We therefore need to manage our stock optimally and have good forecasts. Because we regularly receive unusual orders, it is crucial to respond to these effectively.”

Van Vyve emphasises the importance of looking ahead. While everyone is getting ready for Christmas at the end of the calendar year, Ameel Candy World is already working on its Easter range. And that places demands on the wholesaler. “We often plan six months ahead. That requires a good overview of our entire supply chain.”

Dealing with seasonal assortments

Ameel Candy World’s assortment is divided into two types. In addition to a regular stock of approximately 3,000 items, the wholesaler also has around 1,000 seasonal items. “That brings our total to over 4,000 SKUs. Of course, we don’t need seasonal items for Christmas and Easter all year round. We generally have large contractual agreements, so we have to plan months in advance. Reorders can take up to four months, which we cannot afford.”

Erratic ordering patterns among different customers make for unclear overviews. Van Vyve therefore decided to opt for Slimstock’s supply chain platform. “Years ago, we started looking for a system that would help us with our stock. We were looking for a professional system that continues to evolve. Developing our own system was an option, but we also wanted to bring in external expertise. We found that at Slimstock.”

Proven value

And so, the implementation of Slimstock’s supply chain platform began in 2020. The coronavirus pandemic meant that the markets were uncertain, which was not an ideal start, and the enormous improvements in stock levels were initially slow to materialise. Nevertheless, Ameel Candy World remained confident that the AI-driven platform would be successful. “We started in strange times, but we want to use the data from this period as a basis. And although the start was not ideal, we knew that Slim4 had proven its value in the market. We never doubted that.”

Responding quickly to deviations

The one-stop shop for sweets, chocolate and biscuits has been working with the Slim4 supply chain platform for several years now and is now seeing the full benefits that the platform brings. “We can calculate what is needed more quickly for atypical orders and, thanks to close cooperation with suppliers, we can also bring orders forward more quickly.

The platform really works in a solution-oriented way for us,” says Van Vyve. He indicates that the use of Slim4 also helps Ameel Candy World to continue to guarantee its service level. “That’s about 95% and this percentage is still rising, while our loss is only 3%. The ambition is, of course, to improve and bring the service level to 100%, but we are working hard on that.”

Proactively informed in case of deviations

One of the advantages of Slim4, in the eyes of Purchase Manager & Senior Corporate Buyer Jürgen Lampe, is the user-friendliness of the platform. Every day, he sees how he and his teammates have access to the same data and can therefore respond quickly to disruptions. “It’s the nature of our business that we receive a lot of special orders. That means you have to be flexible. Slim4 allows us to do that.”

Lampe points to the efficient working method that he and his colleagues use. “You can set your own parameters and, if you set them correctly, you can also order quickly. This gives us a clear overview of the necessary data. And if we do miss something, the platform proactively informs us of any deviating values, enabling us to make decisions more quickly.” Van Vyve nods in agreement. “We are a company that is undergoing a major transition in a professional manner. Slimstock’s presence in this process is essential.”