Nortel increases availability to 97% and improves portfolio management

Nortel is the leading distributor of electrical materials in Brazil. As part of the Sonepar Group, the business is a world leader with operations in over 40 countries. Encouraged by the successful partnership between the French arm of the Sonepar group and Slimstock, the company deployed Slimstock’s Slim4 solution to increase planning efficiency and optimise inventory management processes.

Nortel was looking for a more efficient planning solution to better support the complexity of its operation. With over 50,000 products in stock, the business distributes electrical materials and services to large wholesalers and retailers. Today, the company is present in 14 states, with more than 40 branches and 4 distribution centres. With 800 employees, Nortel generates over USD 200 million in revenue every year.

The choice for Slim4 was fuelled by a successful international business partnership. “There is a partnership between Sonepar and Slimstock for a global supply chain implementation project,” says Eric Le Bihan, Director of Logistics at Nortel.

Agile implementation

Nortel began deploying Slim4 in 2018. The company already had a mature supply chain model. The availability and agility of the Slimstock team ensured a smooth implementation with minimal disruption.

This process lasted eight months, from the time of the blueprint to the go-live project. “It was a success. The cost was exactly as agreed during the negotiation. We estimate that the return on investment was approximately 12 months,” highlights Eric. “The ever-present regional support was always extremely responsive.”

Results

Nortel has already seen an increase in availability and stock turn. “Slim4 offers a scalable solution to support service level growth without negatively impacting inventory levels. Furthermore, the solution has played an important role in assisting the company’s sales growth,” adds Eric.

The tool enabled the company to process more than 1 million transactions each night within 25 minutes. It has also automated processes that were previously labour intensive, such as replenishing branch stores. By offering greater forecast accuracy, the flexible parameter settings within Slim4 have allowed Nortel to manage a wider range of products.

The company has expanded its product portfolio in distribution centres by more than 6,000 items. Even with this assortment growth, Slim4 has helped the planning team to attain a 3% increase in product availability, raising service to branches to 97%. Across the distribution centres, availability of A-items increased by 4% reaching a height of 95%. Furthermore, the excess was reduced by 4%.

Continuous improvement

Currently, four Brazilian companies within the Sonepar group use Slim4. As a next step to further optimise the supply chain, the businesses will embark upon a centralised planning project. With a shared structure, the benefits of more robust processes, purchasing optimization and inventory balancing across businesses will be shared.

Based on the results attained at Nortel, Eric recommends Slimstock’s solution to other companies: “Slim4 is an easily parameterized product and a solution that can be embraced by many sectors of the market.”