Asian Food Group

Asian Food Group originated from a merger of three wholesale companies. To professionalise the purchasing organisation and bring unity to the supply chain processes, CEO Dick van der Kolk chose to implement a new system. The percentage of out‑of‑stocks has since been halved, waste has been reduced by half, and stock levels have been optimised. “We are now ready to continue growing.”

In a modern new building in the Netherlands, Asian Food Group, is a wholesaler in Asian food products. Following the merger of three large companies, Asian Food Group grew into a prominent player in the sector, providing products to retailers and foodservice companies in more than thirty countries. “We are both a young and an old company,” says Van der Kolk. “Our name is new and we are ambitious, but we possess many years of experience in importing food products from countries such as China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.”

Long lead times, often having to say ‘no’

An important aspect of a food wholesaler is offering high delivery reliability. That was precisely where, after the merger, there was still room for improvement, he recalls. “My task as CEO was to integrate the three underlying companies and shape them into one professional, future‑proof organisation. The way we managed our stock was standing in the way of that. We worked mainly with Excel and therefore had limited visibility of how demand would develop. That is problematic in a sector in which you also have to deal with long lead times. As a result, I felt we had to say ‘no’ to customers far too often.”

Involving buyers in the change

That a modern inventory planning system was needed soon became clear to him. The choice fell on Slimstock, a supplier with whom he had already had positive experiences in the past and who also has strong references in the food sector. What especially appealed to him was the implementation approach.

“We are a merged company; buyers all had their own way of working. That is why I found it important that everyone was brought along in the new, uniform way of working. The training programme from the Slimstock Academy is of great value in this. In addition, the Slimstock consultants are known for guiding users intensively and expertly.”

Automatically steering on volume discounts

All buyers now work with Slim4 as if they had never done anything else. “A major advantage is that Slim4 produces a forecast and based on that automatically calculates an optimal order,” says supply & demand planner Petra Maassen. “The system also takes into account any volume discounts offered by a supplier and the shelf life.” Ambient products from Asia are generally long‑life, but because of the long lead times she still has to manage them closely. “For some suppliers the minimum order quantities are so high that you can already foresee that part of the stock will expire. In such cases, Slim4 immediately raises the alarm.”

Faster detection of anomalies

Another major advantage is that Slim4 continuously monitors demand development and detects anomalies. “This is particularly important when an out‑of‑stock threatens,” Maassen explains. “Precisely because you are on top of it, you still have room to intervene.”

She can then try to bring a purchase order forward or switch to an alternative supplier. “I also always discuss these kinds of signals immediately with my sales colleagues. Sometimes you see that one specific customer suddenly orders much more than usual or orders a product they had not previously purchased. Then you want to know what is behind it. A demand spike can, for example, be the result of scarcity because competitors cannot temporarily deliver the product. Such information is useful for both supply chain and sales.”

Collaboration between purchasing and sales

Working with Slim4 has paid off well for Asian Food Group so far, Van der Kolk notes. The percentage of out‑of‑stocks has been halved, and waste has also been reduced by fifty percent. “I see that we have gained more control over the unpredictability of lead times and especially over their impact on our service levels. We can now make well‑considered decisions, for example by creating better safety stocks or anticipating disruptions such as the Chinese New Year more intelligently. Collaboration between purchasing and sales has also become stronger, because Slim4 provides insights from which both departments benefit. In short, our level of professionalism has improved in leaps and bounds.”

Thus, Asian Food Group, originating from the merger of three companies, is fully ready to face the future as one strong wholesaler. “With Slim4 we have put in place a scalable solution that enables us to grow further in a controlled manner, both in turnover and in market share.”