• United States USA

    Canada Canada

    Australia Australia

    Belgium Belgium

    Brazil Brazil

    Chile Chile

    Denmark Denmark

    France France

    Germany Germany

    Italy Italy

    Netherlands Netherlands

    Poland Poland

    Romania Romania

    Singapore Singapore

    Spain Spain

    Sweden Sweden

    Turkey Turkey

    United Arabic Emirates UAE

    United Kingdom UK

  • Contact Us

Slimstock US

  • Slim4

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Forecasting & demand planning
      • Demand profiling
      • Statistical forecasting
      • Seasonality & Trends
      • Promotion & event management
      • New product introduction & supersession
      • Management by exception
      • Multi-echelon forecasting
      • Production planning / Bill of Material (BOM)
      • Aggregation / dis-aggregation
      • Size curve planning
    • Inventory & Supply Chain Optimization
      • S&OP with Slimstock
      • Dynamic calculated safety stock
      • Omni-channel inventory planning
      • Vendor Managed Inventory
      • EOQ
      • Orderbook management
      • Management by exception
      • Secondary sourcing
      • Selling quantity / job lots
      • Supplier closure management
      • Price break optimisation
    • Supply Chain Strategy
      • Portfolio & range management
      • ABC / XYZ analysis
      • Product Life Cycle Management (PLC)
      • Service level differentiation
      • Waste / obsolescence management
      • Multi echelon inventory optimization (MEIO)
      • Supply chain collaboration (SCC)
      • Sales and operational planning (S&OP)
      • Business rules
      • Customer segmentation
    • Reporting & simulation
      • Interactive dashboard
      • Key performance indicators (KPI)
      • Performance monitoring
      • What-if simulations & scenario planning
      • Inventory insights & analytics
      • Customer analytics
    • Supply Chain Tools
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Industries

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Manufacturing
      • Consumer Products
      • Automotive
      • Technical
    • Wholesale
      • Pharma & Healthcare
      • Consumer Products
      • Building Materials
      • Sanitary & Climate
      • Automotive
      • Technical
    • Services
      • Service Parts
    • Retail
      • Non-Food
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Ecommerce
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Customers

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Customers
      • Customer Spotlight – Hardware Resources
      • Customer Spotlight – Specialized Bicycles
      • Customer Spotlight – Tennant Company
      • Customer Spotlight – Häfele
      • All Customers
    • Success Stories
      • Drive Products replaced popular software with Slim4 for better results
      • Roper Rhodes set to bathe in supply chain success with Slimstock
  • Our Story

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
    • Team Slimstock
      • International presence
      • Mission & Vision
      • Slimstock History
    • Why Work With Us
      • Implementation
      • Experience
    • What We Offer
      • Consultancy
      • Supply Chain Tools
  • Academy

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Slim 4 Training
      • Functional User Training
      • Basic User Training
      • Key User Training
      • Advanced User Training
      • Program Manager
    • Inventory Management Training
      • Inventory Optimization Minor
      • Inventory Management
    • Masterclasses
      • Category Management
      • Assortment Management
      • Forecasting
      • Safety Stock
      • Economic Order Quantity
      • Promotions Management
      • Sales & Operations Planning
      • Processes KPI’s & Reporting
      • Vendor Management
    • Additional Offering
      • Bespoke Inventory Optimisation Minor
      • Supply Chain Game
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Blog & News

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • News
      • Stena Line chooses Slim4
    • Blog
      • DEMAND PLANNING – How To Forecast for Chinese New Year
      • 5 Ways to Tell You’ve Outgrown Excel
      • FORECASTING 101: 11 Forecasting Fundamentals Every Supply Chain Pro Needs to Know
      • INFOGRAPHIC – What is Inventory Optimization?
      • Inventory Allocation: How Retailers Can Find the Perfect Balance
      • Monthly vs Weekly Forecasting
    • Events
      • Connect with Slimstock at User Group Summit North America 2019 for the Chance to Win a Free Slim4 Inventory Analysis
      • Business Software Event
      • E-fulfilment Innovations Event
      • Retail event IT’s in the mix
    • Downloads
      • Remove Forecast Uncertainty with BANTER
      • SUPPLY CHAIN SURIVALY TOOLKIT Pt. 2
      • COVID-19 | SUPPLY CHAIN SURVIVAL TOOLKIT Pt. 1
      • 16 Tips to Reduce Excess Stock How-To Guide
      • Slimstock’s Guide to ABC/XYZ Analysis
      • The EOQ Formula: From Theory to Practice in 7 Easy Steps
      • Fully Optimize Your Working Capital Management
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently

Slimstock US

  • Slim4

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Forecasting & demand planning
      • Demand profiling
      • Statistical forecasting
      • Seasonality & Trends
      • Promotion & event management
      • New product introduction & supersession
      • Management by exception
      • Multi-echelon forecasting
      • Production planning / Bill of Material (BOM)
      • Aggregation / dis-aggregation
      • Size curve planning
    • Inventory & Supply Chain Optimization
      • S&OP with Slimstock
      • Dynamic calculated safety stock
      • Omni-channel inventory planning
      • Vendor Managed Inventory
      • EOQ
      • Orderbook management
      • Management by exception
      • Secondary sourcing
      • Selling quantity / job lots
      • Supplier closure management
      • Price break optimisation
    • Supply Chain Strategy
      • Portfolio & range management
      • ABC / XYZ analysis
      • Product Life Cycle Management (PLC)
      • Service level differentiation
      • Waste / obsolescence management
      • Multi echelon inventory optimization (MEIO)
      • Supply chain collaboration (SCC)
      • Sales and operational planning (S&OP)
      • Business rules
      • Customer segmentation
    • Reporting & simulation
      • Interactive dashboard
      • Key performance indicators (KPI)
      • Performance monitoring
      • What-if simulations & scenario planning
      • Inventory insights & analytics
      • Customer analytics
    • Supply Chain Tools
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Industries

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Manufacturing
      • Consumer Products
      • Automotive
      • Technical
    • Wholesale
      • Pharma & Healthcare
      • Consumer Products
      • Building Materials
      • Sanitary & Climate
      • Automotive
      • Technical
    • Services
      • Service Parts
    • Retail
      • Non-Food
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Ecommerce
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Customers

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Customers
      • Customer Spotlight – Hardware Resources
      • Customer Spotlight – Specialized Bicycles
      • Customer Spotlight – Tennant Company
      • Customer Spotlight – Häfele
      • All Customers
    • Success Stories
      • Drive Products replaced popular software with Slim4 for better results
      • Roper Rhodes set to bathe in supply chain success with Slimstock
  • Our Story

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
    • Team Slimstock
      • International presence
      • Mission & Vision
      • Slimstock History
    • Why Work With Us
      • Implementation
      • Experience
    • What We Offer
      • Consultancy
      • Supply Chain Tools
  • Academy

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Slim 4 Training
      • Functional User Training
      • Basic User Training
      • Key User Training
      • Advanced User Training
      • Program Manager
    • Inventory Management Training
      • Inventory Optimization Minor
      • Inventory Management
    • Masterclasses
      • Category Management
      • Assortment Management
      • Forecasting
      • Safety Stock
      • Economic Order Quantity
      • Promotions Management
      • Sales & Operations Planning
      • Processes KPI’s & Reporting
      • Vendor Management
    • Additional Offering
      • Bespoke Inventory Optimisation Minor
      • Supply Chain Game
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Blog & News

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • News
      • Stena Line chooses Slim4
    • Blog
      • DEMAND PLANNING – How To Forecast for Chinese New Year
      • 5 Ways to Tell You’ve Outgrown Excel
      • FORECASTING 101: 11 Forecasting Fundamentals Every Supply Chain Pro Needs to Know
      • INFOGRAPHIC – What is Inventory Optimization?
      • Inventory Allocation: How Retailers Can Find the Perfect Balance
      • Monthly vs Weekly Forecasting
    • Events
      • Connect with Slimstock at User Group Summit North America 2019 for the Chance to Win a Free Slim4 Inventory Analysis
      • Business Software Event
      • E-fulfilment Innovations Event
      • Retail event IT’s in the mix
    • Downloads
      • Remove Forecast Uncertainty with BANTER
      • SUPPLY CHAIN SURIVALY TOOLKIT Pt. 2
      • COVID-19 | SUPPLY CHAIN SURVIVAL TOOLKIT Pt. 1
      • 16 Tips to Reduce Excess Stock How-To Guide
      • Slimstock’s Guide to ABC/XYZ Analysis
      • The EOQ Formula: From Theory to Practice in 7 Easy Steps
      • Fully Optimize Your Working Capital Management
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • United States USA

    Canada Canada

    Australia Australia

    Belgium Belgium

    Brazil Brazil

    Chile Chile

    Denmark Denmark

    France France

    Germany Germany

    Italy Italy

    Netherlands Netherlands

    Poland Poland

    Romania Romania

    Singapore Singapore

    Spain Spain

    Sweden Sweden

    Turkey Turkey

    United Arabic Emirates UAE

    United Kingdom UK

  • Contact Us

Slimstock US

  • Slim4

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Forecasting & demand planning
      • Demand profiling
      • Statistical forecasting
      • Seasonality & Trends
      • Promotion & event management
      • New product introduction & supersession
      • Management by exception
      • Multi-echelon forecasting
      • Production planning / Bill of Material (BOM)
      • Aggregation / dis-aggregation
      • Size curve planning
    • Inventory & Supply Chain Optimization
      • S&OP with Slimstock
      • Dynamic calculated safety stock
      • Omni-channel inventory planning
      • Vendor Managed Inventory
      • EOQ
      • Orderbook management
      • Management by exception
      • Secondary sourcing
      • Selling quantity / job lots
      • Supplier closure management
      • Price break optimisation
    • Supply Chain Strategy
      • Portfolio & range management
      • ABC / XYZ analysis
      • Product Life Cycle Management (PLC)
      • Service level differentiation
      • Waste / obsolescence management
      • Multi echelon inventory optimization (MEIO)
      • Supply chain collaboration (SCC)
      • Sales and operational planning (S&OP)
      • Business rules
      • Customer segmentation
    • Reporting & simulation
      • Interactive dashboard
      • Key performance indicators (KPI)
      • Performance monitoring
      • What-if simulations & scenario planning
      • Inventory insights & analytics
      • Customer analytics
    • Supply Chain Tools
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Industries

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Manufacturing
      • Consumer Products
      • Automotive
      • Technical
    • Wholesale
      • Pharma & Healthcare
      • Consumer Products
      • Building Materials
      • Sanitary & Climate
      • Automotive
      • Technical
    • Services
      • Service Parts
    • Retail
      • Non-Food
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Ecommerce
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Customers

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Customers
      • Customer Spotlight – Hardware Resources
      • Customer Spotlight – Specialized Bicycles
      • Customer Spotlight – Tennant Company
      • Customer Spotlight – Häfele
      • All Customers
    • Success Stories
      • Drive Products replaced popular software with Slim4 for better results
      • Roper Rhodes set to bathe in supply chain success with Slimstock
  • Our Story

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
    • Team Slimstock
      • International presence
      • Mission & Vision
      • Slimstock History
    • Why Work With Us
      • Implementation
      • Experience
    • What We Offer
      • Consultancy
      • Supply Chain Tools
  • Academy

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Slim 4 Training
      • Functional User Training
      • Basic User Training
      • Key User Training
      • Advanced User Training
      • Program Manager
    • Inventory Management Training
      • Inventory Optimization Minor
      • Inventory Management
    • Masterclasses
      • Category Management
      • Assortment Management
      • Forecasting
      • Safety Stock
      • Economic Order Quantity
      • Promotions Management
      • Sales & Operations Planning
      • Processes KPI’s & Reporting
      • Vendor Management
    • Additional Offering
      • Bespoke Inventory Optimisation Minor
      • Supply Chain Game
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Blog & News

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • News
      • Stena Line chooses Slim4
    • Blog
      • DEMAND PLANNING – How To Forecast for Chinese New Year
      • 5 Ways to Tell You’ve Outgrown Excel
      • FORECASTING 101: 11 Forecasting Fundamentals Every Supply Chain Pro Needs to Know
      • INFOGRAPHIC – What is Inventory Optimization?
      • Inventory Allocation: How Retailers Can Find the Perfect Balance
      • Monthly vs Weekly Forecasting
    • Events
      • Connect with Slimstock at User Group Summit North America 2019 for the Chance to Win a Free Slim4 Inventory Analysis
      • Business Software Event
      • E-fulfilment Innovations Event
      • Retail event IT’s in the mix
    • Downloads
      • Remove Forecast Uncertainty with BANTER
      • SUPPLY CHAIN SURIVALY TOOLKIT Pt. 2
      • COVID-19 | SUPPLY CHAIN SURVIVAL TOOLKIT Pt. 1
      • 16 Tips to Reduce Excess Stock How-To Guide
      • Slimstock’s Guide to ABC/XYZ Analysis
      • The EOQ Formula: From Theory to Practice in 7 Easy Steps
      • Fully Optimize Your Working Capital Management
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently

Slimstock US

  • Slim4

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Forecasting & demand planning
      • Demand profiling
      • Statistical forecasting
      • Seasonality & Trends
      • Promotion & event management
      • New product introduction & supersession
      • Management by exception
      • Multi-echelon forecasting
      • Production planning / Bill of Material (BOM)
      • Aggregation / dis-aggregation
      • Size curve planning
    • Inventory & Supply Chain Optimization
      • S&OP with Slimstock
      • Dynamic calculated safety stock
      • Omni-channel inventory planning
      • Vendor Managed Inventory
      • EOQ
      • Orderbook management
      • Management by exception
      • Secondary sourcing
      • Selling quantity / job lots
      • Supplier closure management
      • Price break optimisation
    • Supply Chain Strategy
      • Portfolio & range management
      • ABC / XYZ analysis
      • Product Life Cycle Management (PLC)
      • Service level differentiation
      • Waste / obsolescence management
      • Multi echelon inventory optimization (MEIO)
      • Supply chain collaboration (SCC)
      • Sales and operational planning (S&OP)
      • Business rules
      • Customer segmentation
    • Reporting & simulation
      • Interactive dashboard
      • Key performance indicators (KPI)
      • Performance monitoring
      • What-if simulations & scenario planning
      • Inventory insights & analytics
      • Customer analytics
    • Supply Chain Tools
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Industries

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Manufacturing
      • Consumer Products
      • Automotive
      • Technical
    • Wholesale
      • Pharma & Healthcare
      • Consumer Products
      • Building Materials
      • Sanitary & Climate
      • Automotive
      • Technical
    • Services
      • Service Parts
    • Retail
      • Non-Food
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Ecommerce
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Customers

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Customers
      • Customer Spotlight – Hardware Resources
      • Customer Spotlight – Specialized Bicycles
      • Customer Spotlight – Tennant Company
      • Customer Spotlight – Häfele
      • All Customers
    • Success Stories
      • Drive Products replaced popular software with Slim4 for better results
      • Roper Rhodes set to bathe in supply chain success with Slimstock
  • Our Story

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
    • Team Slimstock
      • International presence
      • Mission & Vision
      • Slimstock History
    • Why Work With Us
      • Implementation
      • Experience
    • What We Offer
      • Consultancy
      • Supply Chain Tools
  • Academy

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • Slim 4 Training
      • Functional User Training
      • Basic User Training
      • Key User Training
      • Advanced User Training
      • Program Manager
    • Inventory Management Training
      • Inventory Optimization Minor
      • Inventory Management
    • Masterclasses
      • Category Management
      • Assortment Management
      • Forecasting
      • Safety Stock
      • Economic Order Quantity
      • Promotions Management
      • Sales & Operations Planning
      • Processes KPI’s & Reporting
      • Vendor Management
    • Additional Offering
      • Bespoke Inventory Optimisation Minor
      • Supply Chain Game
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
  • Blog & News

    Learn about your solution of interest in our academy here

    Learn about our customised services and programs here

    • News
      • Stena Line chooses Slim4
    • Blog
      • DEMAND PLANNING – How To Forecast for Chinese New Year
      • 5 Ways to Tell You’ve Outgrown Excel
      • FORECASTING 101: 11 Forecasting Fundamentals Every Supply Chain Pro Needs to Know
      • INFOGRAPHIC – What is Inventory Optimization?
      • Inventory Allocation: How Retailers Can Find the Perfect Balance
      • Monthly vs Weekly Forecasting
    • Events
      • Connect with Slimstock at User Group Summit North America 2019 for the Chance to Win a Free Slim4 Inventory Analysis
      • Business Software Event
      • E-fulfilment Innovations Event
      • Retail event IT’s in the mix
    • Downloads
      • Remove Forecast Uncertainty with BANTER
      • SUPPLY CHAIN SURIVALY TOOLKIT Pt. 2
      • COVID-19 | SUPPLY CHAIN SURVIVAL TOOLKIT Pt. 1
      • 16 Tips to Reduce Excess Stock How-To Guide
      • Slimstock’s Guide to ABC/XYZ Analysis
      • The EOQ Formula: From Theory to Practice in 7 Easy Steps
      • Fully Optimize Your Working Capital Management
    • Benefits
      • Free up working capital
      • Improve Customer Service
      • Work More Efficiently
 

Category: Download

Unify your sales and forecasting teams with BANTER

Remove Forecast Uncertainty with BANTER

Monday, 05 October 2020 by nharper

Improve Forecast Accuracy by Uniting Your Sales and Supply Chain Teams

Creating an accurate and reliable forecast that keeps service levels high without tying up too much working capital is the goal of every forecasting and supply chain team. Working against them is the ever-present threat of uncertainty caused by forecast errors.

While it's not possible to remove all uncertainty from your forecast, keeping your Sales and Supply Chain teams aligned is necessary to minimize uncertainty caused by internal errors. Download our helpful How-To guide and start using BANTER to achieve more accurate forecasts today!

Download our helpful guide to help remove uncertainty from your forecast

SHARE:
  • Published in Download
Download Slimstock USA's COVID-19 Survival Toolkit

COVID-19 | SUPPLY CHAIN SURVIVAL TOOLKIT

Monday, 04 May 2020 by nharper

The COVID-19 outbreak is causing supply chain disruption around the world, affecting labor, movement of goods and production. Many companies are struggling to keep up with the unpredictable changes in demand patterns.

During these unprecedented times, we are sharing our COVID-19 survival guide that contains high-level information to help your supply chain and organization.

EVOLVING ROLES: FROM SUPPLY CHAIN DIRECTOR TO CHIEF CHAOS MANAGER

Given all the unrest that’s unfolding around the world, we at Slimstock thought a little escapism might be welcome. So, to get the most out of this guide, we’re going to pretend that you, dear reader, are the supply chain director at Supreme Cycle Parts Inc., the USA's leading wholesaler of bicycle parts and accessories.

Supreme Cycle Parts Inc. is a simple business. As the supply chain director, you source many of your products from a small number of suppliers located in the Far East. From your main DC, these products are distributed to your retail customers all over the nation. Your largest market is New York, followed by Chicago and Portland, OR.

TO KNOW MORE AND DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT, FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW:

SHARE:
  • Published in Download
16 Tips to Reduce Excess Stock guide

16 Tips to Reduce Excess Stock How-To Guide

Tuesday, 17 March 2020 by nharper

Set accurate service levels, refine stocking strategy, improve vendor management and more with our helpful how-to guide

Most businesses hold some excess stock. This likely includes yours (otherwise you wouldn’t need this guide!). But do you know how much surplus you actually have? Could you put a dollar amount on it? How about a close guess?

If you answered with a shrug or an amount that could be off by several thousand dollars, then it’s likely you’ve been aware of the problem for a while. Why do businesses ignore their excess stock? Because getting rid of it is hard.

Thankfully, you don’t have to do it alone. Slimstock has over 25 years or experience in helping companies optimize their inventory, and this guide will get you many steps closer to achieving that goal for your company.

click here to download 16 tips to reduce excess stock guide

SHARE:
  • Published in Blog, Download
Slimstock Forecating Fundamentals How To Guide

FORECASTING 101: 11 Forecasting Fundamentals Every Supply Chain Pro Needs to Know

Friday, 28 February 2020 by nharper

FORECASTING 101: 11 Forecasting Fundamentals Every Supply Chain Pro Needs to Know

Forecasting technology is always growing more sophisticated, or at least more complicated. At the same time, your customers’ expectations for service level and fulfillment are more demanding than ever.

Newer technologies - like complex algorithms, machine learning, and AI – are often touted as delivering better forecasts. However, without a basic understanding of forecasting fundamentals, you won’t be able to apply those tools correctly.

So, whether you’re still manually updating inventory or are a seasoned supply chain pro, here are 11 forecasting fundamentals you need to know.

SHARE:
  • Published in Blog, Download
Inventory Allocation

Inventory Allocation: How Retailers Can Find the Perfect Balance

Tuesday, 27 August 2019 by nharper

Retailers face a real conundrum. On one hand, everything from the costs of raw materials to commercial retail space is always getting more expensive. And on the other, customers can quickly check dozens of options for any purchase so retailers must ensure that their traditional brick and mortar stores add value to the overall shopping experience. For anyone looking to minimize operating costs while maintaining margins, inventory allocation is one area that simply cannot be overlooked!

Succeeding in today’s complex omni-channel environment means striving to achieve the perfect inventory allocation across multiple locations at a time when it has never been more difficult or costly. With pressure from customer to provide exceptional choice and availability, how can retailers achieve a balanced inventory allocation across all channels?

Inventory Allocation Explained - Why You Need a Strategy

Put simply, inventory allocation encompasses all of the decisions made around how inventory should be distributed throughout your supply chain. The problem for many retailers is that their network is comprised of a complex mix of centralized and decentralized locations and channels. Consequently, generating and implementing an optimal inventory allocation can be a truly mind-boggling exercise.

In complex retail environments - with many warehouses, stores and multiple e-commerce channels - it is vital that the retail allocation strategy is both well considered and communicated effectively across the wider business. This is important because even if you have dozens of retail stores, the allocation of available inventory to any one of them can have a profound impact on overall sell-through rate and waste.

What Does Ineffective Allocation Strategy Look Like?

Before we cover how to determine the best strategy for your business, let’s first take a moment to look at what bad strategy - or worse, no strategy - looks like. (Note – If any of this hits too close to home, you should give us a call!)

When allocation strategy is not well aligned with overall business strategy, this can have a huge impact on the performance of the business as a whole. Some of the resulting issues are very visible, such as empty shelves at some locations while others have cluttered aisles and backrooms bursting with stock. Poor allocation can also have a profound impact on sales and margins as the business is hit with avoidable supply chain costs and missed sales opportunities.

Tell-Tale Signs of an Effective Vs Ineffective Allocation Strategy

Optimized Allocation Strategy                                    Ineffective Allocation strategy

😊 Consistently high levels of availability                ☹ Cluttered stores

😊 Minimized inter-store transfers                            ☹ Excess stock across the chain

😊 Maximum product sell-through                            ☹ Availability issues across online channels

😊 Days of stock on hand minimized                         ☹ High rate of in-store stockouts

😊 Excellent customer satisfaction                             ☹ High rate of markdown

Inventory Allocation Rules: What Parameter Should Be in Place?

Every business is different. As a result, the parameters for effective stock allocation must be built with the intricacies of the operation in question. For example, in environments where demand is steady and easy to predict, allocating all the stock may be the best way to minimize supply chain costs.

However, in industries where the demand per location is highly uncertain, e.g. fashion, allocating 100% of the available inventory on day one could be a risky decision. Instead, it may make sense to allocate 50% of the available inventory to stores in the first instance and then allocate the rest to the best performing locations further down the line. Therefore, the inventory allocation rules must reflect this.

When determining inventory allocation rules, the following are examples of things which business leaders may want to consider:

• The risk of stock outs Vs. the risk of waste
• Ease & speed of distributing inventory from DCs to stores
• Available warehouse space at the DC
• Available shelf space in-store
• Cost to re-distribute stock
• Level of available inventory

The movement of inventory between customers and suppliers

 

Inventory Allocation in a Multi-Channel Environment

Though all retailers are different, there are a number of points to consider so that your inventory allocation will satisfy both the demands of the customer as well as deliver value to the business.

1. Get your allocation right first time, every time

For many retailers, the initial allocation causes the biggest headache. This is not surprising given that a poor initial inventory allocation is one of the most common avoidable causes of obsolescence and waste. When rolling out a product to stores, the temptation is to allocate all inventory from day one. However, there is little point in allocating products to a store where they will never sell through.

Take, for instance, the inventory allocation of women’s shoes: demand will always be higher for size 6. So, while it makes sense to allocate these to stores, what about extremely large and small sizes?

Since these products are statistical outliers demand for them at any given store is likely to be far lower, and therefore the risk of excess and obsolescence is far higher. Consequently, it makes more sense to allocate outlier products to a centralized location in order to fulfill demand via the webshop or push to stores when required.

2. Presentation is everything

When it comes to the initial allocation, less is more. That said, there is always a minimum inventory amount that should be allocated per store. The goal here is to provide your stores with a sufficient amount of presentation stock to launch a new product as well as cover demand until the inventory can be replenished.

However, there is still a risk that the level of presentation stock is excessive. Presentation stock is typically driven by the planogram in place, which is why we highlighted the importance of communicating your allocation strategy throughout your company at the beginning of this piece. In this case, it’s vital that supply chain teams are well aligned with the visual merchandising team to minimize the risk of excess and obsolescence.

3. Make automated replenishment work for you

As stated in Point 1, it is not advisable to allocate all of your inventory straight away. Instead, retailers should rely on their replenishment processes to regularly top up in-store inventory levels. But how do you know when it’s the right time reorder for a new item?

Establishing automated replenishment rules for new items can be tricky given the dearth of item-specific historical sales data. Instead, set initial automated reorder quantities at a level equivalent to similarly selling items at that location, and institute weekly manual reviews. By doing this, you can be assured of a specific minimum inventory level, with the option to order more as needed using the manual review. As adjustments are made after the roll-out, the review time-frame can be pushed to bi-monthly and then monthly once more data is available. While this process is more labor intensive than standard automated replenishment it works to ensure that stock is allocated correctly while also providing that reassurance that a base level of product will always be available.

Businesses must grab every opportunity they can to improve margins. By implementing a cohesive allocation strategy, retailers can realize increased sales from levels of availability across the entire supply chain.

Slimstock has been helping companies like yours lower inventory costs while increasing customer satisfaction for 25 years. Our inventory management software is used by over 900 customers worldwide to free up capital and simplify the ordering process. Chat with one of our friendly customer service reps today to learn how we can help optimize your inventory.

SHARE:
  • Published in Blog, Download, Retail, Wholesale
Slimstock's guide to ABC / XYZ Analysis will help you make sense of your inventory and order more efficiently

Slimstock’s Guide to ABC/XYZ Analysis

Thursday, 15 August 2019 by nharper

Slimstock’s guide to making sense of your inventory and how much to order using the ABC / XYZ Analysis framework

Working for a small business often means your office is in a spare room or garage, and ordering can be done by simply looking to see what inventory you’re low on. However, once you begin searching for warehouse space and applying for an expanded line of business credit, inventory management gets increasingly complex. A growing business requires a more sophisticated approach to forecasting.

You’ve probably heard about ABC/XYZ analysis already, but do you know the first steps toward implementing it for your inventory? If not, don’t worry – Slimstock is here to help with a beginner’s guide to ABC / XYZ analysis.

Our guide to ABC XYZ Analysis will help you order better today

SHARE:
  • Published in Download

The EOQ formula from theory to practice in 7 steps

Tuesday, 17 April 2018 by

Owning, maintaining, and managing inventory costs a lot of effort and money. However, you need to have enough in stock to deliver customer service: no inventory, no deal.

This paper provides you with the basic knowledge you need for the optimization of your order quantities.

Ordering the right quantities will lower your operational expenses while boosting your return on inventory investment, thereby resulting into an integral optimization of your total supply chain costs.

SHARE:
  • Published in Download

Fully Optimize Your Working Capital Management

Monday, 16 April 2018 by sphipps

Working capital fuels your business, but it can be easily eroded. The more inventory you have in stock, the less working capital you have available. Further, the higher the risk that that inventory will become dead stock, meaning it will never contribute to your bottom line at all.

Utilizing a structured approach to your working capital management will help ensure it is well optimized today, and in the future.

Take our 10 question quiz to determine if your supply chain department is effectively managing working capital, and where there are areas for improvement.

SHARE:
  • Published in Download
Inventory Optimization

That’s a lovely long tail you have!

Thursday, 05 April 2018 by dweir

The ultimate assortment conundrum

From prangs and punctures to general wear and tear, every car endures a lifetime of hardship. To prolong the life of these vehicles, a sophisticated aftermarket spare parts industry has taken off. Although Billions are spent every year on automotive parts and components, businesses operating in this sector face intensifying pressure from consumers to deliver goods as quickly as possible as well as fierce competition from other organizations.

In pursuit of a unique selling point, many businesses have developed extensive assortments encompassing many thousands of SKUs.  While this approach enables businesses to provide customers with a huge amount of choice, managing such a large number of items brings with it its own range of challenges.

When you consider that 80% of a business’s turnover is typically generated by just 20% of the assortment. By holding such large assortments, many businesses invest a huge amount of resources into managing thousands of items that offer limited value to the business in terms of profit but great value to the end customer. With this in mind, what can businesses do to maximize the value of their assortment without compromising their ability to meet the needs of their customers?

Refinement is everything!

Achieving a well refined assortment is about far more than just simply focusing all of your attention on ensuring that the best performing lines are managed as effectively as possible. In order to maximize the profitability of the assortment, inventory decisions should not be taken lightly, especially when it concerns long tail items.

However, unless you have a complete understanding of your assortment, how can you be sure that you are making the right inventory decisions? After all, while a slow moving line may seem like a costly waste of space in your DC, for certain customers, these items could well be the sole reason they buy from your business. Equally, if an item offers only a minimal return in terms of customer benefit or profit, is it really worth investing time and money ensuring that this item is always available?

Managing long tail items is a delicate balancing act between service levels and keeping investment in stock under control. In order to manage these items effectively, it is important that businesses have clear visibility over how each item contributes to the overall corporate goals: through categorizing items depending on their strategic importance to your business, you can begin to adopt a more tailored approach to manage the long tail.

Defining the long tail

For many businesses, it may not be clear exactly which items form part of the long tail. However, a well-structured ABC analysis can provide the insight required to identify clear product groups. While the process of conducting an ABC analysis allows you to gain a greater understanding of the assortment, it is essential that the parameters of the analysis are well aligned with the business’ overall objectives. After all, if your business is focused on customer satisfaction, categorizing items by margin alone will do little to help the business achieve its goals. How you define the boundaries within your assortment will depend heavily on what KPIs are most important to your business.

Essentially, there are two main objectives which determine the KPIs: on one hand the focus can be on the profit margins of an item or the turnover. Alternatively however, the financial elements can be put to one side and customer satisfaction in the form of order lines or transactions can be used as the foundation on which to build KPIs.

Remove the sting

To shape the assortment and help make informed decisions. The following 3 steps can be adopted today to help reduce inventory levels, improve cash flow and help maximize the profitability of your long tail.

1. Stocking decisions
There are likely to be a number of long tail items that are not worth stocking at all as they simply do not offer a significant enough margin to justify investing in stock. However, by not stocking such items, this may put customers off from purchasing items with much higher margins. For instance, while nuts and bolts are unlikely to offer large margins, no one will buy more expensive components if they cannot also get all the components that go with it. Furthermore, there also may be a number of items which are currently non-stocked which would actually be better to keep stocked at all times. This is particularly true for items where there is either a lengthy lead time or a low level of supplier reliability.

In order to make the correct stocking decisions, businesses should base their decision on a broad range of metrics. For instance; how much margin does a product offer? Does the product have a major impact on the sales of other items? How much footfall does the item create? Is there an alternative product that could be sold instead? Does the product have a political impact on supplier relations? Is the product important to the key customers?

In order to make the correct stocking decisions, businesses should base their decision on a broad range of metrics. For instance; how
much margin does a product offer? Does the product have a major impact on the sales of other items? How much footfall does the
item create? Is there an alternative product that could be sold instead? Does the product have a political impact on supplier relations?
Is the product important to the key customers?

2. Re-assess your inventory policy
Given that many long tail items are likely to have volatile demand patterns, it can be very difficult to determine exactly how much inventory should be held. Given that the level of safety stock will differ depending on the importance of each item, it is inevitable that A-line items are likely to have a greater requirement for safety stock as going out of stock could cost the business dearly. However, for long tail items determining safety stock can be a little more challenging.

On one hand, holding excessive safety stocks could mean unnecessarily tying up working capital into slow moving stock which is always at risk of becoming obsolete. However, on the other hand insufficient inventory levels could hamper sales and leave customers disappointed. In order to ensure that inventory levels are appropriate, there are a range of factors that have to be taken into consideration.

3. Prioritize areas which require attention
The real advantage of a well-developed ABC analysis, is that the outcomes enable you to prioritize the areas which require the most attention. With clear insight into which items have the biggest impact on your ability to achieve your strategic goals, you can begin to focus actions on areas which will deliver the greatest benefit. For instance, in order to optimize long tail items, this may present an opportunity to re-negotiate minimum order quantities and lead times or even find entirely new suppliers.

Through reviewing each category that arises as a result of the ABC analysis, you can gain a much clearer picture of how your assortment is performing. Consequently, this approach enables you to spend more time investigating potential problem areas within the long tail, thus helping ensuring the assortment is as refined as possible.

Accelerate the performance of your assortment

For any business, developing a large assortment with great breadth and depth can create a huge amount of value through enabling them to satisfy the needs of their customers. However, unless managed effectively, the long tail can be a huge drain on resources. In order to offer customers the choice and availability they demand while still keeping investment in stock under control, businesses must take steps to ensure that their inventory policy is well aligned with customer expectations, stocking decisions are well informed and opportunities to improve the performance of the assortment are prioritized in order to be exploited fully.

SHARE:
  • Published in Download
Informed Inventory Decision

The Business of bicycles

Friday, 16 March 2018 by dweir

It seems that from coast to coast Americans are getting on their bikes in startling numbers. The National Household Travel Survey showed that the number of trips made by bicycle in the U.S. more than doubled from 1.7 billion in 2001 to 4 billion in 2009. Nationwide, the number of people who travelled to work by bike increased roughly 60 percent over the last decade. In another study, the number of bicyclists in the US increased from about 51 million riders in 2012 to slightly more than 66 million riders in 2017.

It is clear that more and more people will start to ditch their cars for bikes as they recognize the many health benefits of cycling and as municipalities continue to support cycling infrastructure.

Omni-channel retailing: a gear shift in complexity

The supply chains that support today’s leading cycling brands have been redefined by changing consumer behavior. E-commerce has many variants and as more and more of us shop online, cycling businesses have had to respond accordingly. Today, even local bicycle shops (LBS) have successfully established an online shop to bolster their existing retail landscape. That said, there are undoubtedly more stand-alone web shops today than there were 5 years ago.

As more and more bicycle businesses continue to explore the ever expanding omni-channel environment, maintaining high levels of availability is now of paramount importance. Given the transparency of pricing on the web, consumer demand in E-tail is far more erratic in comparison to traditional retail outlets. After all, regardless of whether the customer is shopping in store or online, stock-outs directly result in lost sales and disappointed customers. Consequently, businesses must optimize their inventory to ensure the right stock, in the right place, at the right time.

Product lifecycles: the grand fondue

Maintaining consistently high levels of availability across complex product assortments can prove difficult in the best of times. However, in the cycling industry, this challenge is only further exacerbated by the sheer number of new product introductions and ever-shortening product lifecycles.

Simply put, failure to manage product lifecycles effectively can come at great cost to the business: both in terms of lost sales due to poorly introduced new items as well as unnecessarily tying valuable working capital in obsolete stock that won’t sell!

As suppliers further up the chain release new product updates and variations as well as entirely new products lines, retailers have little choice but to add these items to their assortments. Even so, as these assortments grow, businesses must invest in tools and technologies that provide the required insight to make informed inventory decisions. Only then, can business put in place the right strategies to ensure new items are introduced effectively while end-of-life items are phased out with minimal financial impact to the business.

Seasonality: managing the fair-weather cyclist

Inventory challenges are not limited to new product lines and products at the end of the product lifecycle, even mature items can prove problematic. Given that every item is likely to have its own individual seasonal demand profile with different sales peaks throughout the year, business can easily find themselves dangerously exposed to seasonal fluctuations in demand.

For instance, while a long summer is likely to stimulate high demand for new bikes as people make the most of the good weather, a cold snap or a late-arriving spring could seriously hamper sales. Managed effectively, seasonal influxes can provide a welcome boost to sales. Yet, managed badly, these surges in demand can result in high levels of excess stock and, consequently, waste.

As a result, business must remain responsive to seasonal influxes and manage inventory levels accordingly. Through encompassing seasonal uplifts into the demand planning process, business optimize inventory levels before, during and after a season influx.

Outpace the competition with Slim4

Thanks to the accurate analysis and forecasting capabilities of Slimstock's inventory management tool, Slim4, some of the biggest names in cycling rely on our solution to provide supply chain insights to make informed inventory decisions.

With the management by exception principle of Slim4, manufacturers, distributors, traditional retailers and E-tailors can focus their time and attention where it is required most, thus, ensuring planning teams are able to remain more responsive to the challenges presented by the omni-channel environment.

Ultimately, customers of Slimstock can make more intelligent supply chain decisions, respond to seasonal demand and manage product lifecycle: all while maintaining complete control of their entire assortment.

Retailer/ E-tail customers of Slim4 can typically enjoy the following results:

  • Up to 30% reduction in inventory sales
  • Increased availability across the entire range to over 97%
  • Stock-outs reduction of up to 60%
  • Greater control over inventory costs

If you want to know more, contact us directly to find out more.

 

SHARE:
  • Published in Download
  • 1
  • 2

Categories

  • News
  • PR

Sign up to our newsletter

  • Slimstock USA
  • Phone(970) 420-1777
  • Emailinfo.us@slimstock.com

Privacy Policy

Cookie Policy

Support

General Conditions

TOP
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok