Sonepar Sweden

Facing growing service expectations and a complex product range, Sonepar Sweden adopted Slimstock’s supply chain planning solution to optimise its planning. The business now enjoys better stock decisions, higher availability, and improved operational efficiency.

Sonepar Sweden (formerly Elektroskandia) is the leading B2B wholesaler of electrical products in Sweden. With a history dating back to 1904 and a portfolio of over 40,000 stocked items, Sonepar Sweden serves professionals in electrical installation, infrastructure, industry, and lighting. The company is part of the global Sonepar Group, a family-owned global leader present in 40 countries, committed to delivering an omnichannel experience and high-quality distribution services worldwide.

When electrical wholesaler Sonepar Sweden decided to introduce a new inventory planning system, it needed a solution that could handle the complexity of its product range while ensuring high availability. The company ultimately selected Slimstock and Slim4, the outcome has been both more efficient purchasing and better control over inventory.

An industry with ever-increasing demands

As one of the Nordic region’s leading electrical wholesalers, Sonepar Sweden operates in an industry characterised by fierce competition and price pressure. Meeting customers’ high service demands requires a well-balanced inventory strategy, something that has become increasingly important as efficiency remains a top priority.

“Our customers expect us to always have the right products on the shelf. At the same time, we have to maintain a healthy inventory value. It’s a constant balancing act,” says Robin Manske, operational purchaser at Sonepar Sweden.

Sonepar Sweden chose to implement Slim4, a proven solution already in use within the Sonepar Group.

Slim4 provides security and control

Through Slim4, Sonepar Sweden ensured that important historical data was utilised and used in forecasts and safety stock calculations. This was a decisive factor in maintaining a stable level of service even during the transition to the new business system.

“Slim4 takes history into account in a completely different way to our previous system. Forecasts are accurate, and mass updates are faster,” says Laila Al-Ghazali, operational purchaser.

Shortly after implementation, Sonepar Sweden saw clear results. “We have gained better control over the quantity of different products to be stocked or not, while increasing availability more than we had expected,” continues Robin Manske.

In addition, Slim4 has made it possible to steer the inventory more clearly towards the company’s goals and create a better balance between inventory value and availability.

More time for strategic work

Another important effect is increased efficiency in daily work. Slim4 has freed up time for the purchasing team to focus on more value-adding tasks, such as supplier relationships and analysis.

“After the implementation of Slimstock’s solution, our operational work has been streamlined, giving us more time to develop supplier relationships,’ says Robin Manske.

The future: balance between availability and profitability

Sonepar Sweden is now looking ahead to the next step in its optimisation work. The focus is on further streamlining inventory management and finding the perfect balance between inventory value and availability, with the support of Slimstock’s analysis tools and expertise.

“We see that the demands from customers and suppliers continue to increase. With Slim4, we have a solution that allows us to grow sustainably when the market turns,” concludes Laila Al-Ghazali.