Heutink

Heutink offers tens of thousands of products, such as schoolbooks, creative materials and school furniture. Providing to educational institutions from a brand-new distribution centre, Heutink takes care of thousands of schools and institutions, mainly in the Netherlands and Belgium. Heutink has been using Slim4 for years to keep control of the supply chain.

Heutink is the market leader in educational supplies and has had a new distribution centre for four years. The new building was sorely needed after the enormous growth Heutink has experienced in recent years, partly due to several company acquisitions. At the same time, this resulted in a growing product range that no longer fit in the old DC. “The new building was therefore not a luxury, but a real necessity. We now supply almost everything you would find in a school or nursery,” says Jarno Meen, who is responsible for Heutink’s supply chain as Team Leader Inventory Management. “From pencils and paint cans to go-karts and complete furniture. Our range now includes around 25,000 different items.”

Huge spike in demand

Although orders come in every day, there is a huge annual peak. While schools shift their focus to the summer holidays around the summer, Heutink experiences its busiest period of the year. The company processes almost three million order lines annually, with the largest peak concentrated in June and July. A large proportion of all orders are processed in those two months. “Schools want to be well prepared at the start of the school year and therefore often order the necessary products before the summer. Days in which we record 40,000 order lines per day are therefore no exception during the season,” Meen points out. “We have to keep a close eye on our stock if we want to continue to deliver properly.”

“Without Slim4, we would need at least three extra people”

Keeping track of stock is vital for Heutink. Meen regularly reminds his colleagues of this. “I always say that we fulfil a social function, because if we can’t deliver, thousands of students will be left without teaching materials. To keep control of the right stock levels,

Heutink has been working with Slimstock’s supply chain platform for many years. This has provided Heutink with a wealth of data over the years. This master data is valuable for future stock decisions, although there are always exceptions. “Of course, we are sometimes surprised when a huge order is placed. You can’t prevent that. But we set up stock rules in Slim4. This allows the system to automatically monitor any deviations from the forecast. That’s how we maintain control,” says Meen, appreciating the value of the supply chain platform.

“Slim4 is not the only solution for us, but it is the tool that makes the difference. Slim4 has certainly helped us to facilitate growth; otherwise, we would have had to hire at least three or four extra people.”

Control over stock with minimal backorders

Heutink uses Slimstock’s platform to keep a constant eye on the stock balance as its suppliers are spread all over the world, including some in China. As a result, delivery times can be as long as four to five months. Ordering on time and determining the correct stock position is therefore crucial. Partly due to a limited “best before date”, Heutink can more easily build up stocks that can remain in storage for longer but can also deliver quickly. “What is ordered today can be delivered tomorrow,” says Meen. “For us, a good safety stock is indispensable. However, it is up to us to optimise it. And that is going well. We only have 1 to 2 per cent of back orders.”

Collaboration in the chain

This performance is not only due to Slimstock’s solution, but mainly to the way Heutink collaborates with its suppliers. The replenishment process is designed in such a way that stock is not only replenished on time, but also actively managed. “The information we extract from Slim4 is the input for our strategy,” explains the inventory management team leader. “We inform various suppliers in a timely manner, or they inform us themselves so that they can step in when necessary,” explains Meen. “This close information sharing within the chain greatly increases the likelihood of achieving the right stock level.”