Sabco ANZ

By using Slimstock’s solution for demand forecasting and inventory optimisation, Sabco reduced stockholding by approximately $1M, kept inventory consistently below 15%, and achieved it with no increase in stock-outs across its Australia and New Zealand operations.

Sabco is an Australian manufacturer and distributor of professional cleaning, signage and safety solutions, serving customers across Australia and New Zealand. With a wide product range and multiple warehouses supporting national distribution, inventory availability is critical to keeping customers supplied and operations running smoothly.

As the business expanded across regions and added complexity to its supply chain, Sabco needed a more structured way to plan demand and manage stock without losing flexibility.

The challenge

Before Slimstock became embedded in day‑to‑day planning, Sabco faced a familiar but persistent balancing act between availability and inventory value.

The main challenges included:

• Fluctuating stock levels, with periods of overstock tying up capital and periods of shortage increasing the risk of stock-outs.
• Limited forecasting capability within the existing ERP system, making demand planning difficult.
• Manual, time‑consuming planning processes requiring constant cross‑checking and calculations.
• Limited visibility to support fast, confident replenishment decisions.
• Planning errors caused by fragmented data and reliance on spreadsheets.
• Increased pressure on service levels as the business expanded across regions.

As Stijn Verhofstadt, Supply Chain Manager at Sabco, puts it: “We faced ongoing inventory challenges, balancing the risk of over-ordering and tying up excess working capital against under-ordering and experiencing frequent stock-outs”

The business needed clearer visibility and stronger forecasting to stabilise inventory without increasing risk.

Why Slimstock

Sabco selected Slimstock at a point where growth across Australia and New Zealand had outpaced what the team could realistically manage with the ERP’s limited forecasting and spreadsheet-based workarounds. The priority was to reduce inventory without increasing risk—by moving from reactive replenishment to a repeatable, decision-led planning process.

A key differentiator was how Slim4 turns complexity into clear actions. Rather than static reports or raw data tables, planners get a single view of what is changing and what to do next. “Something that Slimstock does really well is that it gives you all the information you need on one page,” says Verhofstadt. “It makes decision-making much quicker.”

Slimstock also fit Sabco’s environment because it could sit alongside the existing ERP and improve planning without a disruptive system replacement. The team could adopt the new way of working progressively, building confidence and consistency across sites as forecasting expanded to cover both Australia and New Zealand.

The solution

Slimstock implemented Slim4 with an initial focus on improving forecasting accuracy and bringing inventory under tighter control.

By centralising demand forecasting and inventory optimisation in one platform, Sabco gained a clearer view of stock levels, future demand, and replenishment decisions. Planners no longer needed to jump between systems or rely on manual calculations to decide whether to bring stock forward or delay orders.

According to Verhofstadt, that visibility changed how decisions were made: “There’s no trying to do calculations in your head or switching between pages. Slimstock just tells you whether you need to expedite an order or whether you’re overstocked and can delay it.”

The solution was later extended across multiple locations. Forecasting for Australia and New Zealand is now handled centrally through Slim4. “We’ve actually imported all that data into Slim,” Verhofstadt explains. “So, we do all the forecasting for New Zealand through Slimstock as well.”

The results

The most visible outcome was a significant reduction in inventory value, achieved without sacrificing availability.

Over the past year, Sabco reduced its stockholding by approximately $1 million, while maintaining service levels and avoiding an increase in stock‑outs. Inventory levels were reduced by 15%, surpassing the company’s internal inventory reduction targets while maintaining service levels.

“We’ve had a least a million dollars less in stock at all points, with no increase in out‑of‑stocks,” says Verhofstadt.

Just as important, stock levels became more stable over time. Even during periods that traditionally push inventory higher, such as Chinese New Year, control was maintained. “We’ve maintained tighter inventory control and sustained lower stock levels since August last year, even through seasonal peaks such as Chinese New Year” he notes.

Operationally, planning has become calmer and more consistent. Errors have reduced, decisions are made faster, and the team spends less time reacting to issues. “The biggest thing that really stood out was the decrease in mistakes,” Verhofstadt says. “That came down to how much clearer the data is.”

Looking ahead

With a solid planning foundation in place, Sabco sees Slimstock as a long‑term partner rather than a short‑term project.

The next step is to move ordering fully into Slim4, reducing manual effort further and streamlining purchase order creation. Beyond that, Sabco is exploring how Slimstock can support production planning as the business invests in new machinery and facilities.

As Verhofstadt puts it simply: “The main thing for us now is to move ordering over, that’s the next key step.” With clearer visibility, proven results, and room to grow, Slimstock continues to support Sabco as it scales, without losing control of its supply chain.