Versluis

Versus Paint & Non-Paint, a painting products wholesaler in the Netherlands, chose Slimstock’s supply chain platform, Slim4, to balance its inventory position. With this project, the operations were adjusted and now the stock value has fallen by a third. ‘The fact that Slimstock consultants prompted us to get more out of their software is just great,’ says Bas Versluis, managing director at Versus.

‘We supply paint, but that is not our main product,’ says Bas Versluis, who runs the family business together with his brother. ‘It is mainly the products around it such as brushes, roller trays, tape, ladders, sandpaper, and other home makeover products. We have those specially made and sell them under our own brand. Besides DIY stores, retail chains, and independent paint and wallpaper shops, we also supply industrial and maintenance companies. These companies use our products in their own processes.’

Versus distinguishes itself with high-quality items at a fair price delivered from their facilities. However, as a wholesaler, the company is pursuing a healthy balance between delivery rates and stock holding. Bas Versluis explains, “My father always taught me to buy in bulk, by instinct, to avoid having to say no to customers. This led to us having a very high stock level at one point.”

Grip on purchasing process

To get a grip on the purchasing process, Versluis needed software support. Initially, the company tried to optimise its supply chain by using its ERP system, but the process became very labour-intensive with no significant results. ‘I have known Slimstock for 15 years and I knew we would be able to use their software well, as we were also looking to modernise our ERP system,’ adds Bas.

Quick payback

The family business had millions of euros worth of stock, and an analysis showed that with Slim4, a third of this could be taken off. This would quickly recoup the investment. ‘Even if we were to realise half of this saving potential, I would be very satisfied,’ the managing director reflects. In addition, service levels could be raised further—something that was also important to him. ‘Via online portals, retailers can now see exactly what we and other suppliers have in stock. If you can’t deliver a product for a while, they can order a similar item from someone else at the click of a mouse.’

The introduction of Slim4 has far exceeded his expectations. ‘We even managed to realise the full savings. A third of our stock is gone and we don’t have to sell as many no-orders.’ His colleague Ellen van der Wens, who is a buyer, agrees. ‘In the past, I regularly had discussions with sales about why a product was out of stock. Now this hardly ever happens, and if it does, I can immediately explain and show them when a product is available again. This has created peace in the organisation.’

Promotion planner tool

As a promotion planner tool, Slim 4 calculates the optimal order quantity based on an item’s demand pattern. ‘This alone was a huge advance for us,’ says Van der Wens. ‘In our ERP, we had to manually adjust the optimal order quantities per product. Slim4 recognises trends and seasonal patterns and automatically adjusts the order quantity accordingly. You can also let Slim4 plan extra stock for promotions. You enter how long such a promotion lasts, and then Slim4 switches back to the regular demand pattern on its own. Super convenient.’

Twice as efficient

The introduction of Slim4 has made the procurement process at Versus twice as efficient. ‘In the past, two people were busy with this; now Ellen does it in four days a week,’ Versluis says. ‘Slim4 takes so much work off my hands, I only have to deal with the exceptional cases,’ adds Van der Wens. ‘Suppliers then produce a batch of, say, 1,000 litres of paint that must be purchased in full. It was always a huge puzzle to determine how to distribute such a batch across different packaging forms. Slim4 calculates this in a second.’

Product classification layout set straight

Although managing director Bas Versluis is now very happy with Slimstock’s supply chain software, this was not the case from the start, he points out. ‘In the first year after going live, we were more efficient and had less stock, but we still weren’t selling as often as we expected. We didn’t understand how that could be, until Slimstock’s consultants explained it to us. It turned out that we had made a sub-optimal set-up choice. We were working with a product classification based on margin, which meant some items were classified as C items despite being very important to customers. After we corrected this, things immediately improved.’

Thinking along with customers

According to Versluis, it is only logical that an IT system is constantly adjusted due to progressive insight and advice from the supplier. ‘It is good that companies encourage each other to improve, which is also what we do towards customers. We think along with them and develop product lines with which retailers can increase their margins. This benefits both parties. The fact that Slimstock consultants prompted us to get more out of their software is just great. Work together, grow together—that’s our motto towards our customers, and I also recognise that in Slimstock.’