Deschacht

Deschacht originally started out as a distributor of agricultural films in East and West Flanders. Over the years, the product range expanded. In 2004, the company came under the ownership of its current shareholders. Gradually, the organisation grew into a one-stop-shop wholesaler specialising in multiple areas.

Today, the company distributes materials to the construction industry, including non-residential construction, roofing and façade work, road and earthworks, and utility lines. Deschacht not only supplies the materials but also optimises construction plans through, among other things, an engineering department for research and customisation, expertise in sewerage and water management, a brand-independent BIM library, and specialised sales teams.

Challenging stock management

It goes without saying that each part of the group is responsible for its own stock management. Deschacht has a total of around 35,000 SKUs in stock. Between 3,000 and 6,000 SKUs are stored per branch.

“Because we distribute many bulky products at Deschacht, the majority of incoming goods are delivered directly to the branches, and only a smaller part of the range is stored centrally. The location of the central storage point varies depending on the purchasing conditions, under which the TCO is charged, and the supply organisation for specific product lines. This flexible multi-site approach makes us very agile, but at the same time presents significant challenges in terms of stock management,” says Steven De Wilde.

Support with restocking

Deschacht always takes strategic stock decisions centrally. Cross-functional teams decide what to purchase and when for each product category. Pricing, the desired service level for each product group, and the forecast are also determined within these teams. They also continuously gather market intelligence, which allows them to respond quickly.

“This is also necessary in a world where we are growing rapidly on the one hand and facing very high volatility on the other. We are therefore constantly looking for ways to organise our supply chain more efficiently,” says Steven De Wilde.

Until recently, the branches were responsible for day-to-day stock management. However, because their focus is on the customer, this was more of a necessity than an ideal situation. “By using specialised software, we wanted to relieve the burden on those branches in the first place. At the same time, we wanted to gain efficiency,” says Steven De Wilde. “Reducing stock was not the intention. A solid stock position is one of our strengths. Moreover, it can be opportune to purchase large quantities at once. But of course, we wanted to have the right products in the right place to serve our customers as well as possible.”

Slim4 as standard

Deschacht’s choice of Slim4 from Slimstock is fully in line with Buildmat’s strategy. “Several other companies within the group, such as ODM and Technicel, also use Slim4. Within our digital master plan, it is our preferred supply application. You could safely say that Slim4 has become the standard for us in this area,” explains Bert Vermeiren.

“It was therefore logical that we would initially look at this software at Deschacht,” continues Steven De Wilde. “Nevertheless, the solution still had to meet our specific requirements. For example, the complexity within Deschacht is much higher than at other entities within the group. That is why, together with the CEO, we spoke to several organisations within the same sector that were already working with Slim4. This gave us a better understanding of the possibilities. Those conversations convinced us to make the switch to Slim4 as well.”

Step-by-step transition

Thanks to Slim4, order points and quantities are determined in a uniform manner based on the desired stock strategy. Operational replenishment is now centralised. This allows branch managers to focus more on the customer, order processing, and warehouse management.

To make the transition to the new tool as smooth as possible, Deschacht opted for a phased approach. Steven De Wilde explains: “First, we transferred the easiest suppliers to Slim4, followed by the more complex ones. This approach allowed us to transform in a controlled manner, test the new Slim4 processes, and gain confidence in them as a team. We completed this process in six months. Centralisation means specialisation, but it also means paying extra attention to cooperation and coordination. Cooperation between the central stock planners and branch managers is structurally built into our processes.”

This approach has benefited the change process. For example, at the start, branch managers were asked to check and adjust the Slim4 orders via an approval mechanism. This structural feedback loop enabled them to adjust and optimise the new process. Once confidence in Slim4 was high enough, the approval mechanism was removed, and Slim4 took over.

“Now we only ask branch managers to check certain things from time to time, such as whether they have enough space to store certain bulky goods. In addition, Deschacht receives recommendations from Slim4, which automatically adjusts the order quantity to the available storage capacity at that moment. Collaboration between sales, purchasing, and logistics is key to making the end-to-end supply chain work. Through Slim4, we have built bridges via processes that contribute to our strategy.”

More time for customers

The biggest advantage of Slim4 is that the branches now have more time for their customers, because the central team is responsible for daily restocking. Steven De Wilde says: “In the past, the ten branch managers had to do this work alongside other tasks. That took them several hours. Now, two employees work on this for two to three hours a day, in a focused and efficient manner. The more standardised way of working also ensures a more uniform restocking policy.”

“In terms of service, we were already scoring well, so the potential gains in that area were limited. Our sister company ODM has made much greater progress with Slim4, because the starting situation there was less favourable. With Slim4, we mainly want to maintain our high level of service within our ever-expanding network of branches and increasingly broad product range,” says Steven De Wilde. “We can’t forget that we implemented Slim4 in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, we too have been affected by supply problems and price fluctuations across the board. Slim4 helps us to make quick tactical purchasing decisions,” adds Bert Vermeiren.

“In the future, we also want to use the Slim4 dashboard. This will give us an even better picture of developments in terms of stock and service over a longer period,” he adds.

Optimal distribution of stock

What is certain is that Slim4 also helps to evaluate the product range and better map the return on investment per product. The product range calculations by Slim4 provide a good starting point for discussions within the cross-functional teams. The focus is mainly on the service that Deschacht wants to offer for each product category.

The software also ensures that excessive stock levels at branch level are identified more quickly. For example, certain products may not sell well in one branch but perform strongly in another. Slim4 will then designate the branch with excessive stock as the main supplier. “To ensure optimal restocking within that dynamic network of branches, we opted for a customised solution, but otherwise the standard functionality met all our needs,” says Bert Vermeiren.

A new challenge for Deschacht and Slim4 is the arrival of the new branch in Farciennes. After all, there is no local order history available for Slim4 to work from. “Together with Slimstock, we are exploring how we can optimally integrate the new branch into Slim4. It goes without saying that good input from sales is crucial here. On the one hand, we can base ourselves on what we already deliver in the region, and on the other hand, we will also actively target certain groups in the region. By working with this input, we want to ensure a high-quality forecast. This will also enable us to set up efficient supply from Slim4 in the new branch right away,” concludes Steven De Wilde.