Technische Unie

In a world where customers expect products to be available on time, controlling the inventory is crucial. Technische Unie, one of the largest players in technical wholesale in the Netherlands, is taking a major step forward with the Slimstock’s supply chain platform.

After the implementation, Technische Unie now has a modern and future-oriented inventory management system that supports the organisation’s growth and innovation. What’s more, the implementation was lightning fast, meaning that the benefits became apparent shortly after going live.

Part of the global Sonepar family

Technische Unie is a leading wholesaler of technical solutions for installation and industry. From three modern distribution centres in Alphen aan den Rijn and Strijen, and its head office in Amstelveen, the organisation serves a nationwide network of its own branches and thousands of customers on a daily basis. With over 2,300 employees, Technische Unie is part of the globally active Sonepar family.

To further professionalise its supply chain and make it future-proof, Technische Unie decided to replace its existing inventory management system with Slimstock’s advanced inventory optimisation solution. The aim of the switch was to gain more control over inventory levels, further improve availability and increase efficiency within the planning processes.

Intensive project

To ensure a smooth and controlled transition, the project team opted for a phased implementation. This was an intensive but efficient and controlled process, carried out in close collaboration between Technische Unie, CTAC, the Sonepar Supply Chain Planning Centre of Excellence and Slimstock. Every three weeks, a new group of suppliers was added, totalling five batches with more than 600 suppliers.

The rollout was completed within three months. This step-by-step approach made it possible to continuously learn, optimise and implement improvements immediately without disrupting daily operations. After a joint kick-off, work began on the technical link to the existing SAP system, which forms the backbone of the company’s operations.

Within just one month, the first test files were successfully processed and after only two months, Slim4 was fully operational. A remarkable achievement. To put this into perspective, Technische Unie has a range of more than 2.5 million items, of which more than 100,000 are available directly from stock. Reliable delivery and customer satisfaction are always central to this.

Formula for success

The success of this rapid and successful implementation is the result of thorough project management and close cooperation between all parties involved. Thanks to Slimstock’s experience, the expertise of the Sonepar Supply Chain Planning Centre of Excellence and the commitment of the Technische Unie team, the implementation ran like a well-oiled machine: smoothly, transparently and according to plan.

Within a short period of time, the planning team quickly mastered the new working method with Slim4. Shortly after commissioning, the first results became visible: higher product availability, lower stock levels and more efficient planning processes. Slimstock’s user-friendly supply planning platform interface also gave planners more insight and confidence in their decisions, which contributed to greater agility within the chain.