Nedis

An overcrowded warehouse, still having stockouts and a finance department sounding the alarm. The signs were there that something needed to change about stock management at Nedis. To gain effciency, and streamline operations, the leading consumer electronics supplier chose the award-winning supply chain platform Slim4, to launch a supply chain transformation inniciative. Since then, the noise between purchasing and sales has disappeared and the results are visible: more control over inventory, higher service levels and stronger customer relationships.

Nedis offers affordable consumer electronics for an easier, healthier, smarter and more connected daily life. Its more than 8,500-product range, divided between household, cables and Smartlife products, are available at numerous successful retailers, large electronics shops and online outlets. ‘Our range is an alternative to A-brands, with good quality at a competitive price,’ states Jack Breukers. As Head of operations/ICT, he is responsible for the implementation of Slimstocks supply chain platform.

Immediate enthusiasm and no doubt

The indirect reason for switching to Slim4 was the aftermath of the corona pandemic. Procurement and sales were running at full capacity, yet inventory was getting out of balance. ‘In 2022, we found that our warehouse was completely full. We were overstocked, but at the same time we had stockouts. Actually, everything went wrong that you can get wrong in terms of stock,’ Breukers looks back on that time. With hundreds of suppliers from Asia, it sometimes took months before ordered stock arrived at the warehouse in Den Bosch. Nedis was clearly behind the times. Breukers saw colleagues working in abundance with a customisation package, which did not provide the right information and thus wrong decisions were made.

‘At that point, finance raised the alarm that something had to be done. We were working with an approval matrix, but now we had to discuss every order line to get the brakes on our stock. It was nice for a while, but obviously not a structural solution. That’s why we put out a call for help.’ As IT manager, Breukers contacted Slimstock and a demo followed. ‘I was a bit sceptical at first, because Slimstock did not disclose many details about the algorithms. But Slimstock very convincingly indicated ‘we will definitely solve this for you’. The demo and reference visit was so convincing and the colleagues who started working with Slim4 were immediately enthusiastic. There was no doubt in their minds.’

Objectives more than exceeded

A lightning-fast implementation followed and, working with consultants, we looked at the right alignment. Nedis’ wide range was classified according to an ABC classification and an additional classification was added for the main runners. Meanwhile, the figures show significant results, taking Nedis on a forward-looking step. Breukers: ‘Our stock value has fallen by more than 33% in two years. That’s about millions of euros. In addition, the service level of our AA products has risen from 94% to 98.5%. This has already far exceeded our targets. We are very proud of this result.’ Breukers calls it an optimal combination between man and machine. ‘The system supports, the human decides based on common sense and entrepreneurship.’

Easier conversations, internal and external

The figures Breukers presents make the conversation between different departments a lot easier. Thanks to the insights Slim4 provides, sales and procurement are now more easily aligned. ‘A good forecast is crucial and thanks to Slim4 we now have access to reliable forecasts. That creates mutual understanding internally.’ But there has also been huge progress externally. Nedis is also taking delivery of the customer forecast module following the successful implementation of Slim4. Through this module, the forecasts calculated by Slim4 are coordinated with Nedis’ customers to test and improve the quality of the forecasts.

Although the module is still being honed, the future now looks positive. ‘Fortunately, because we really believe in this module,’ states Breukers, who says he values close collaborations with customers. ‘We want to build good partnerships and this is now starting to bear fruit. We can provide a good service following the data from Slim4. This is because we can back up the conversations we have with our clients with reliable figures.’

Slim4 grows with the times

Meanwhile, Nedis was acquired by the Commaxx Group, an international player in the electronics market. The acquisition meant that several systems had to be converted to a single unified system, and Slim4 was chosen for that too. The methodology and results Nedis used were so convincing to Commaxx that the supply chain platform is being extended to Commaxx as well. ‘At Commaxx, the whole setting up of inventory management starts all over again. When those colleagues saw Slim4, they were very excited about the system. And because Slim4 is scalable, we can extend the line nicely.’