Nedschroef

To gain greater control over forecasting, Nedschroef successfully implemented Slimstock’s award-winning supply chain platform, Slim4. The platform provides the Dutch developer, manufacturer and supplier of automotive fasteners with powerful tools to further optimise its supply chain.

While many organisations use Slim4 primarily to reduce inventory, Nedschroef focused instead on improving forecasting capabilities. In doing so, the company has taken another important step towards more sustainable operations.

“We are now in the driver’s seat rather than the passenger seat,” says Frank Bongers, Global Supply Chain Management Director at Nedschroef.

Forecast deviations

For more than 130 years, Nedschroef has been a leading player in the automotive fasteners industry. From its headquarters in Helmond, the company manages production facilities across the globe. Nedschroef develops and manufactures high-quality metal fasteners, including screws, bolts and nuts, as well as machinery for the cold and hot forming of steel.

There is a strong likelihood that products manufactured by Nedschroef can be found in almost every vehicle, from passenger cars to heavy goods vehicles. As a result, most people come into contact with Nedschroef technology every day, often without realising it.

Nedschroef’s broad customer base is reflected in its extensive product portfolio. The range includes approximately 25,000 SKUs, around 12,000 of which are fast-moving items. Some products differ only marginally, for example in thread spacing or material hardness, making inventory management particularly complex.

Adding to this complexity, manufacturers provide order forecasts six to twelve months in advance, during which time demand can fluctuate significantly. Accurate forecasting is therefore essential: Nedschroef must always be able to deliver. Without sufficient inventory, production lines at automotive manufacturers can quickly come to a halt.

In the past, however, Nedschroef frequently had to make last-minute adjustments because customer forecasts proved unreliable.

“We observed an average deviation of more than 15% across different forecasts. Supply chains are so interconnected that the impact of any forecasting error is felt immediately,” says Frank Bongers, Global Supply Chain Management Director at Koninklijke Nedschroef Holding B.V.

As the person ultimately responsible for the global supply chain, Bongers regularly saw operational challenges escalate quickly.

“If unexpected changes occur and you are not prepared for them, the impact is immediate. And that only concerns new production. Additional requirements, such as spare parts requests, come on top of that.”

Greater control over sustainability

One option for preventing backorders would have been to increase inventory levels. However, this would conflict with the company’s sustainability ambitions. At the same time, rush orders and ad hoc production place additional strain on both operations and the environment.

Changing over production lines consumes time and capacity, while shipping partially filled lorries is both inefficient and environmentally burdensome.

“A reliable forecast is essential for us. This is where the real sustainability gains are achieved,” says Bongers. “We needed to move from a make-to-order model to a make-to-stock approach, but in a controlled and well-substantiated manner.”

Based on previous positive experiences with Slimstock, discussions were reopened and a business case was developed with the aim of structurally improving forecast accuracy.

“The objective was explicitly not to reduce inventory, but to gain control through reliable and stable forecasting.”

Proactive rather than reactive

With the support of the proven Slim4 supply chain platform, Nedschroef now has access to a reliable and highly effective forecasting tool.

“Slimstock’s forecasting model is highly stable, and the statistical forecast is now 40% more accurate than before,” says Bongers.

Slim4 now delivers more accurate predictions than customer-provided forecasts.

“Instead of acting reactively, we can now operate proactively. This creates stability in the early stages of the production process, improves both internal and external communication, and increases awareness of the value we deliver. We are now in the driver’s seat rather than the passenger seat.”

Future-proof

Thanks to its improved forecasting capabilities, Nedschroef can now manage inventory far more precisely. Unnecessary surplus stock is no longer required, resulting directly in a substantial reduction in inventory levels.

“We have already achieved an inventory reduction of around 20%. That has created stability throughout the entire organisation,” says Bongers.

The supply chain team is currently working on the next phase, in which MRP calculations and inventory management will be fully integrated into Slim4. This is expected to further optimise inventory levels.

Bongers therefore looks confidently to the future:

“We are truly becoming future-proof. In a market that increasingly resembles a battlefield, we now have a solid foundation for the years ahead.”