Astra Sweets

Astra Sweets is known for iconic sweets such as UFOs, a sour-filled candy wrapped in paper, hard-boiled sweets, Frisia marshmallows and gum products such as cola bottles and sour bears. “In addition to our A-brands, we also produce private-label products, mostly for large supermarket chains,” says Van Bylen. “In recent years, many consumers have switched from branded products to private-label products, due to inflation, for example, and are convinced of the good quality of private-label products. We are seeing enormous growth in this market now, which means we regularly have to expand our production capacity.”

The food company currently has four factories in Belgium and the Netherlands, from which it supplies its customers. For several large European retailers, Astra Sweets uses Vendor Managed Inventory, with products going directly to the customer’s distribution centre.

Peak demand during halloween

Slimstock’s supply chain software has been the foundation on which Astra Sweets bases its production and purchasing decisions for more than ten years. “Without the forecasts from Slim4, our supply chain would come to a standstill,” says Van Bylen.

“The system forecasts how many items we will sell in the future at product, customer and DC level, so that we can start allocating our production lines and purchasing raw materials and packaging materials in good time. The strength of Slim4 is that its forecasts consider seasons, promotions and special occasions such as Halloween or Easter. During such periods, certain types of sweets can experience a huge spike in demand. You can’t rely on averages, because then you’ll be playing catch-up.”

New varieties of sweets

Astra Sweets is an innovative and customer-focused company with an R&D department that is constantly developing new and improved types of sweets in attractive packaging. Products sometimes change their recipe because, for example, certain raw materials are no longer available or are less desirable to the customer. “The number of item codes is expanding rapidly, and items are constantly being phased in and out. Slim4 has a product life-cycle function that allows you to indicate which item is the successor to another and when the old product will be discontinued and the new one will start. This is a real godsend for us in tracking changes. Without it, we would often be left with old stock and insufficient new items. Not only that, but we would need a lot of Excel lists in the planning department to keep track of everything. With Slim4, this happens automatically”.

Insight into ordering behaviour

Slim4 also provides the commercial department at Astra Sweets with the necessary support. It provides insight into how market demand is developing and enables them to add their own input.

“Some customers provide us with very good forecasts of what they expect to purchase from us, while others provide us with nothing. Slim4 can handle both situations, and everything in between. The software is also very valuable in that it shows how the ordering behaviour of an individual customer is developing. If we see that a customer orders a certain product very irregularly, we can look at how we can make this more regular.”

And continues, “If a customer suddenly stops ordering a product, we also take immediate action. What is behind this? Do we need to do something about it? By analysing the figures and talking to the customer, we can respond better to their needs and at the same time create more peace of mind in the operation.”

Basis for S&OP

For longer-term planning, Astra Sweets has implemented a Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process in which commercial, financial and operational goals are weighed against each other. The aim is to ensure that market demand can be met in the long term while keeping the costs per tonne of end product as low as possible.

“Slim4 is also a fundamental part of this process,” Van Bylen notes. “You can see which product types and markets are likely to grow and which are likely to decline. Based on an aggregated forecast for the next 12 months, we arrive at a capacity plan and a requirements plan for purchased goods. For some raw materials, you work with annual contracts, so it is very important to know how much you are going to need.”

Webinars are excellent

As long as Astra Sweets and Slimstock have been partners, the applications of Slim4 have been further expanded, Van Bylen notes. “Slimstock is constantly evolving, just like us, and we complement each other well. In the beginning, we were one of their first customers who wanted to specify forecasts at customer level. This has now been included in the standard version of Slim4, and everyone can benefit from it. We also have a good rapport when it comes to knowledge sharing. We can go to the Slimstock Academy to further develop ourselves, and for the past year, Slimstock has also been holding webinars here in Belgium. I think they’re excellent because you get a lot of tips in a short amount of time without having to travel. I’ve been working with Slim4 for a long time, but I keep hearing about clever tricks that I can apply immediately.”