Implementos S.A. ready to take on new challenges with Slim4

Slimstock offers more than just software

After an extensive selection process, where four inventory management systems were evaluated, Slimstock was the only one that was truly committed to the project. “After performing different analyses, in addition to demonstrating the effectiveness of Slim4 software, we were confident that Slimstock was the right partner to help us advance,” comments Héctor Torres, Planning Deputy Manager at Implementos S.A.

As soon as the Slim4 implementation process kicked off, Slimstock were extremely supportive and worked closely with Implementos S.A. to ensure the project was a great success. Héctor Torres comments “Although it’s been several years since Slim4’s go-live, we continue to count on the help and support of Slimstock’s consultants.”

Excellent results

“Thanks to the help of the Slimstock consultants, we were able to quickly get to grips with Slim4. Now, we can say with certainty that it has been a very good investment and we have more than recovered our original investment,” says Héctor.

One of the most important results for Implementos S.A. was the improvement in availability. At the Distribution Center, availability increased from 73% to 92%. Furthermore, availability at the branches increased from 78% to 95%. In addition, the stock turn improved by 22% as the excess stock was reduced by 50%.

The planning team now have more time to perform tasks such as cleaning the assortment, reviewing stocking policies and product categories. “We can now ensure the right stock at the right place at the right time,” concludes Hector.

More accurate information

Slim4 provides greater insight and therefore enables more effective communication gains among the branches in Brazil. “Before Slim4, the companies worked alone, now they act as a team,” states Rita.rnrnTo achieve this, a special planning group was created. ¨Every month we review the inventories together to check our inventory position and understand where we need to rebalance our stock. All this started as a result of the process review meetings we completed as part of the Slim4 implementation. We now have access to better information and we can produce forecasts that are more concise and consistent with our reality. As a result, we have reduced inventories and increased availability.”rnrnAttaining greater visibility across the business and detecting trends and variations in irregular items were also benefits of the software implementation. “We are in a very volatile market. The demand planning optimisation provided by Slim4 helped us a lot because now we can see very clearly the exceptions, variations and apply the corrections, so we do not have problems of stock out of products in the future¨.rnrn“Slim4 is now essential for our planning,” concludes Rita Mendonça, Systems Coordinator at Fagron Brazil.