From best-sellers to slow-movers & vice-versa
First implemented in 2016, Slim4 helped the business to attain a reduction in inventory and a significant reduction in process costs and out-of-stocks. During the crisis, the solution provided invaluable transparency over the inventory with exception-based alerts and simulations of possible scenarios. Given that the high levels of volatility from the start of the pandemic, Slim4 offered immediate support.
Gülistan Piskin, Head of Purchasing at Bionatic GmbH & CO. KG explains: “With the introduction of a national lockdown, many of our bestselling products within the catering category suddenly became slow-movers. Meanwhile, we recorded a 200% increase across the takeaway range. Furthermore, demand fluctuated from one day to the next. This can also be seen in our stock turn which in the last 18 months has increased from 3 to 5. For some products, the stock turn has increased to over 20. At first glance, it seemed impossible to determine what products we should fill our warehouse with. But thanks to the clear analysis dashboards in Slim4, we had complete transparency. As a result, we were able to react promptly and thus absorb the strong demand fluctuations to minimise out of stocks,”
Oliver Bünting, Purchase & Merchandise Planner at Bionatic GmbH & CO. KG, adds: “The ever-changing developments and decisions of the federal and state governments had a great influence on incoming orders and led to lengthy delays throughout the supply chain. Sales in the catering segment immediately increased as a region re-opened. However, there was a risk of overstocking takeaway products as sudden incident-related closures or restaurants and restrictions on events lead to sudden changes in demand.”
At first, these fluctuations could hardly be predicted, but the alerts and to-do functions within the inventory management solution provided Bionatic with a comprehensive overview. This enabled the planning team to make daily adjustments to automate supply chain processes.
“The Slim4 warning system saved us because it showed us at a glance every day which products, we needed to pay special attention on to remain responsive. Given that supply conditions are also considered, we could easily see which items were at risk of excess. For example, we were able to prioritise certain products with our suppliers and take countermeasures at short notice, “says Bünting.