FAQs about Slimstock

About Slimstock

What is Slimstock and how is it related to Slim4?

Slimstock is a global leader in inventory optimization and supply chain planning. Since 1993 we’ve helped over 1500 companies improve service levels, reduce waste and build more resilient supply chains. Our software solution, Slim4, is the engine that drives these results.

How experienced is Slimstock?

For more than 30 years, Slimstock is the market leader in inventory optimisation and supply chain planning. With more than 1500 customers worldwide, our inventory optimisation Slim4 helps businesses improve customer service while simultaneously minimising inventory levels and supply chain costs.

Where is Slimstock located, are you experienced worldwide?

The headquarters is based in Deventer (The Netherlands) and we’re active in 75 countries, with offices in 27 and a global team of 500+ supply chain professionals. Every year, we deliver more than 150 new projects.

How many employees does Slimstock have?

We have more than 500 inventory experts worldwide. This means we are always close to help you get the right inventory at the right place at the right time.

What is Slimstock’s mission and purpose?

By helping planning teams to make more intelligent decisions based on data and reducing time, resource, and talent waste, we assist businesses in creating more robust and sustainable supply chains.

What makes Slimstock unique?

Our success is based on 8 promises that ensure we always deliver value: from guaranteed ROI within 12 months to continuous innovation, free customer training and lasting partnerships.

What kind of results can I expect with Slimstock?

Our customers typically achieve:

• Up to 50% reduction in waste
• Higher availability with less stock
• Lower operational costs
• ROI in under 12 months

Is Slimstock well-equipped to help me with the implementation?

Yes, our experts will need an approximate 3 to 4 months to implement Slim4 and provide the training before go live can take place. The duration also depends on the complexity of your supply chain. Take into account that implementing inventory management software requires dedication and commitment from the whole organisation for effective results.

Is Slimstock well-equipped to help my employees with training?

We do in-company training for employees under the Slimstock Academy. We also provide a certificate of completion at the end of each training course.

Who are Slimstock’s customers?

We deal with companies of every size. From big businesses to local leaders in industries such as retail, manufacturing, automotive, food and beverage, fashion and healthcare.

Where can I find my local Slimstock office?

You can locate your nearest office or local partner here: Find your local Slimstock office.

Slimstock Academy

What is the Slimstock Academy?

The Slimstock Academy is our learning hub designed to help professionals master supply chain and inventory management. To make effective supply chain decisions, your team needs the right knowledge, that’s why we developed the Slimstock Academy. Through a wide range of in-company training, online sessions, open courses, and community events, our Academy provides the tools and knowledge professionals need to turn their business strategy into effective supply chain actions.

Is the Slimstock Academy free for customers?

Yes, our Academy is free for all Slimstock customers.

What kind of training does the Academy offer?

We offer courses on using Slim4, from essential to advanced levels, including refresher courses. In addition, we provide workshops and specialised masterclasses on topics such as demand planning & forecasting, S&OP, inventory optimisation and data analysis.

Do participants receive certification?

Yes. Upon completion of a course, participants receive an official Slimstock Academy Certificate, recognised by supply chain professionals globally.

Is training available in my region or language?

We deliver courses in multiple languages, both online and in-person.

What other kind of resources does Slimstock provide?

Slimstock is a knowledge company that provides supply chain professionals with a variety of resources. In addition to specific webinars on subjects like demand planning, S&OP, obsolescence management, seasonality, exceptions management… There are downloadable guides, eBooks and other free resources available. These tools are intended to keep you aware of the latest advances and industry best practices in supply chain management.

Slimstock Solutions

What solutions does Slimstock provide?

Slimstock offers a unified AI-enabled platform to optimise your entire supply chain. Our Slim4 solution covers four main areas:

• Demand management: Improve forecasting, cross-channel management, demand sensing and planning. Includes demand forecasting, customer & channel forecasting, demand planning and demand sensing.
• Inventory management: Optimise stock across your network with tools like Multi-Echelon Inventory Optimisation, Allocation, network balancing, Auto replenishment and fresh & shelf life management.
• Supply chain planning: Enhance supply, assortment, production, promotion and collaboration planning with solutions like assortment management, Open to Buy (OTB), supply planning, production planning & scheduling, promotional planning, supply chain collaboration and control tower.
• Integrated Business Planning (IBP): Align strategy, finance and operations with tools like Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Sales & Operations Execution (S&OE), merchandise planning and scenario planning.

Which industries and sectors does Slimstock serve?

We support companies across diverse industries including:

• E-commerce
• Manufacturing
• Retail
• Spare parts/MRO
• Wholesale

And sectors like:

• Building materials
• Fashion
• Pharma
• Automotive
• Food
• Industrial components
• Sanitary/climate
• Consumer products
• Mining
• Paper/office supplies
• Steel/metal

Does Slim4 include industry-specific features?

Yes. Slim4 offers tailored features like size curve planning for fashion, batch and expiry management for food and multi-location planning for distributors.

ERP integration

Does Slim4 work with my ERP system?

Yes. Slim4 integrates with ERP systems. Slim4 can import and export all required master and transactional data using interface tables, web services or flat files. Slim4 also supports automated scheduled data updates, and in the Enterprise platform, real-time data exchange is available.

Can we work in the Cloud with Slim4?

Yes, Slim4 can be deployed in the cloud. The platform is available as Slim4Cloud, offering online access and a fully managed cloud environment. Slim4 can also be installed on-premise, depending on the organisation’s infrastructure and preferences.

Which ERP systems can Slim4 integrate with?

Slim4 integrates seamlessly with major ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics and Netsuite, among others. The Slim4 platform connects your operational execution with strategic planning, supporting end-to-end supply chain processes. Its intuitive web-based interface and mobile app allow for flexible user experiences, dashboards and real-time collaboration, ensuring your team can adopt and benefit from the system quickly. You can explore more about the Slim4 platform here.

Slimstock software – Slim4

Inventory management & replenishment

Why is an online inventory management system better than using spreadsheets?

Using spreadsheets for inventory planning requires a lot of manual work and makes it harder to maintain consistent, reliable processes. Slim4 automates forecasting, replenishment and exception detection, ensuring that decisions are based on objective, standardised calculations rather than manual editing.

By working with automated data processing, integrated business rules and a clear “management by exception” approach, Slim4 helps planners focus only on items that truly need attention—reducing errors, improving efficiency and providing full visibility over performance.

Why is an online inventory management system better than using ERP?

An ERP system provides the master and transactional data, but it is not designed to perform specialised forecasting and inventory optimisation. Slim4 applies advanced statistical models, lifecycle logic, automated safety stock calculations and exception-based workflows to determine exactly when and how much to order. By using Slim4 alongside the ERP, companies benefit from automated, data-driven planning processes that ERP systems do not offer, resulting in more accurate forecasts, better service levels and lower inventory.

Does Slim4 provide a dynamic calculation of safety stock?

Yes. Slim4 dynamically calculates safety stock based on demand variability, lead-time uncertainty and the required service level. The system automatically adjusts safety stock to reflect fluctuations in demand and supply. For seasonal items, Slim4 can also vary safety stock throughout the year so that buffers decrease in low-season periods and increase ahead of the high season.

Does Slim4 calculate the optimal order size?

Yes, Slim4 calculates the optimal order size using the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) approach. The system determines the most cost-efficient replenishment quantity by balancing ordering costs and holding costs.

Does Slim4 help to see what purchase order may be delayed and thus where the action is required?

Slimstock’s platform provides comprehensive order management that highlights purchase orders which are late or may cause future issues. The system monitors all open orders and generates warnings for delays, delivery issues or orders that require rescheduling. Slim4 supports both reactive controls—such as detecting purchase orders that should already have arrived—and proactive controls, for example identifying orders that will lead to future stock-outs if not corrected in time.

Does Slim4 select the best supplier, with more sources as a purchasing option?

Slim4 supports multiple sourcing by allowing several suppliers to be linked to the same item.

• Planners can switch to an alternative supplier manually or through business rules—for example, when a preferred supplier cannot meet demand, when lead times differ, or when volume needs to be split across sources.
• This provides flexibility and continuity of supply when dealing with constraints or changing supplier conditions

Does Slim4 anticipate on special promotions from suppliers?

Some items are available on a seasonal basis during certain periods of the year. Additionally, suppliers periodically offer special promotions or temporary price reductions. Slim4 enables companies to take advantage of this by:

• Temporarily recalculating economic order quantities based on seasonal availability or price promotions
• Enabling analysis of special offers from specific suppliers

Can Slim4 help with optimising the supply chain?

Slim4 supports supply chain optimisation by helping organisations make effective stocking decisions and manage their assortment in a structured way. The tool provides clear insights into which items should be stocked or not, supports portfolio and range management, and enables collaboration across teams such as marketing and supply planning to avoid excess stock and improve availability.

Does Slim4 provide a solid basis for service level differentiation?

Yes. Slim4 provides a robust framework for service level differentiation.

• The system allows companies to define different service levels based on item characteristics—such as demand frequency, strategic importance or ABC classification—and automatically applies these rules to ensure consistent inventory decisions.
• Slim4 also enables simulation of the impact of different service levels, showing how changes affect safety stock, average inventory and days on hand, helping organisations find the right balance between cost and customer service.

Does Slim4 anticipate on Product Life Cycles?

Slim4 supports product lifecycle management by identifying and managing all stages of an item’s life cycle (from introduction to end-of-life). It detects when demand patterns change, signals transitions between lifecycle phases, and guides planners with exceptions so they can take timely actions such as adjusting forecasts, reviewing sourcing decisions, or preventing unnecessary replenishment. Slim4 also links predecessor and successor items to support smooth transitions and more accurate planning.

Does Slim4 accept business rules for specific environments?

Slim4 allows companies to apply business rules to tailor inventory decisions to their specific environment. These rules standardise decision-making, automate routine actions using if-this-then-that logic and ensure all planners follow the same strategy.

Unlike in ERP systems, Slim4 enables these parameters to change dynamically, allowing the solution to adapt quickly to evolving business conditions.

Does Slim4 provide customer segmentation?

Yes. Slim4 offers customer segmentation through its Dynamic Segmentation functionality. The system can automatically classify customers (and suppliers) using ABC analysis based on their relative importance (for example, order volume, sales contribution or procurement spend).

These classifications are updated dynamically, ensuring that planning and prioritisation always reflect the most recent customer behaviour and performance.

Forecasting & Analytics

Where is the Slim4 software based on?

Slim4 is based on a “Management by Exception” philosophy. The system continuously analyses all items, detects abnormal behaviour and highlights only those that require attention. This allows planners to focus on urgent or important exceptions instead of reviewing the entire assortment.

Can Slim4 help me with order forecasting and demand planning?

Slim4 provides an integrated set of forecasting and demand-planning capabilities. The system automatically builds accurate forecasts using advanced statistical models, identifying seasonality, trends, demand patterns and exceptional behaviour.

• These forecasts are continuously updated and form the basis for replenishment, allowing Slim4 to determine the right order levels for every item.
• The result is a reliable and data-driven demand plan that supports consistent purchasing and inventory decisions.

Does your forecast consider a whole range of factors, including emerging trends, seasonality and volatility?

Slim4 applies advanced statistical forecasting methods that automatically take into account demand patterns such as trends, seasonality and demand variability. The system detects seasonality, identifies upward or downward trends, recognises abnormal demand and integrates events or adjustments where needed, ensuring the most reliable forecast for every item.

Does Slim4 identify the best selling products?

Slim4 gives detailed insights into product performance through KPIs, dashboards and BI reports. Slim4 allows users to analyse sales and demand behaviour across product groups and items.

Does Slim4 identify the best suppliers?

Slim4 delivers reporting and insights on supplier performance through the Supply Management module. This includes visibility of purchase behaviour, incoming supply, supplier reliability and KPIs related to service and inventory.

Does Slim4 identify my best customers?

Slim4 provide functionality to segment customers based on their importance. Through Dynamic Segmentation, customers can be classified automatically according to criteria such as order volume or contribution. This ensures planners can prioritise the customers that have the greatest impact on demand and inventory decisions.

Does Slim4 anticipate on seasonal and trend products?

Yes. Slim4 detects and incorporates both seasonal patterns and long-term trends into the forecast. The system analyses historical demand to determine whether an item has seasonality or a structural upward/downward trend.

• For seasonal items, Slim4 applies proven statistical techniques—such as the F-test—to establish reliable seasonal profiles, either at item level or by using group patterns when individual data is insufficient.
• When trends are identified, Slim4 incorporates them into the forecast and generates exceptions when steep changes require user attention.

Does Slim4 anticipate on promotions?

Yes. Slim4 includes advanced functionality to anticipate and manage promotions. Through the Promotion Manager module, Slim4:

• Automatically incorporates promotional uplifts into the forecast.
• Ensures promotional demand does not contaminate the normal demand history.
• Builds the required stock ahead of the promotion based on uplift factors or machine-learning predictions.
• Allows users to adjust promotion volumes, locations and characteristics.
• Scales inventory across underlying locations in multi-echelon environments.
• Monitors sales during the promotion and supports post-promotion evaluation.

Does Slim4 anticipate on new products and end of life items?

Yes. Slim4 actively supports both new product introductions and end-of-life management.

• The system identifies when an item enters a new lifecycle phase and triggers the appropriate actions for planners.
• For new products, Slim4 allows the forecast to be based on basic initial data or by inheriting demand history from a predecessor item. It also provides frequent exceptions to closely monitor early sales behaviour.
• As items approach the end of their lifecycle, Slim4 detects declining demand, warns planners and supports decisions on sourcing, forecasting and stock reduction to minimise obsolescence.

How does Slim4 anticipate on new products and end of life items?

Slim4 supports the full product lifecycle by helping planners manage both new items and items approaching their end of life.

• For new products, the system can use demand data from predecessor items or basic initial inputs, and then closely monitors early sales through daily or weekly exceptions to adjust forecasts quickly.
• For end-of-life items, Slim4 detects declining demand, signals when items move into the phase-out stage and helps prevent unwanted replenishment while controlling remaining stock.
• In successor–predecessor scenarios, Slim4 links both items and transfers relevant history and data to ensure a smoother transition.

How does Slim4 handle Bill of Materials (BOM)?

Slim4 integrates Bill of Materials (BOM) structures to ensure that demand for finished products automatically generates the corresponding demand for all required components. The platofrm identifies the relationships and quantity ratios between finished goods and their subcomponents, propagating demand from higher to lower levels so that raw materials and semi-finished goods are purchased or produced at the right moment and in the right quantity.

This supports a smooth production process by ensuring component availability and reducing the risk of bottlenecks.

Reporting & Insights

Does Slim4 provide reports?

Yes. Slim4 provides extensive reporting capabilities through its intelligent dashboard and BI data warehouse.

• It offers up-to-date visibility of key inventory KPIs—such as availability, stock turns, excess stock—and allows users to drill down using filters and selections.
• For deeper tactical and strategic analysis, the optional BI data warehouse provides dashboards that track performance over time, including demand, inventory and supply processes.

Does Slim4 report up-to-date on every product level I want?

Slim4 provides web-based reporting that offers up-to-date insight into key performance indicators, including current stock positions, historical trends and future projections.

Reports are always accessible online and updated with the latest available data. Users can filter and drill down to different product or assortment levels depending on their reporting setup.

Does Slim4 offer the option of simulations and scenario planning?

Yes. Slim4 allows users to run simulations and compare different scenarios to understand the impact of strategic decisions.

Within the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process, Slim4 supports the creation and evaluation of multiple scenarios—such as best-case or worst-case—allowing businesses to compare them against the current plan.

These simulations help assess changes in demand, inventory levels, service levels, and other key variables before decisions are implemented.

Slim4 Investment

What will Slim4 cost?

The costs depend on the complexity of your supply chain and the functionality that you need. Most importantly, we aim to achieve an ROI within a year. We will be able to provide you with an indication of the price after reviewing your company’s requirements.

How much time does our organisation need to invest?

It depends on your needs and the quality of data and commitment of your supply chain team. However, 3 to 4 months is the duration time mostly requiring.

Slimstock Support

What support does Slimstock provide?

We offer dedicated customer success, technical support and consultancy for all of our customers. With offices in 27 countries, our support team operate around the clock to keep your Slim4 environment performing at its peak.

Is post-implementation support included?

Yes. After go-live, our team continues to work with you to ensure ongoing success and continuous improvement.

Does Slimstock provide ongoing consultancy?

Yes. Beyond technical support, our consultants offer guidance and best practices to help you continuously optimise performance.

What is Slimstock’s customer retention rate?

Our 96% customer retention rate reflects our long-term commitment and the tangible value we deliver year after year.

Security

Why does Slimstock make security a priority?

Because cyberattacks on supply chains have risen by more than 300% since 2021 (according to PwC). Slimstock recognises that protecting over 1,500 customers comes with great responsibility, so it continually works to strengthen the security of its systems, products and services.

What principles guide security at Slimstock?

Slimstock’s approach is built on three key principles: availability, integrity and confidentiality of information. These pillars ensure that every process is designed to manage security risks and maintain customer trust.

How are employees trained in security?

Slimstock believes that knowledge is the best defence. That’s why all employees receive ongoing training in security best practices, helping them identify and respond effectively to potential threats.

How does Slimstock protect customer data?

The company complies with data protection regulations and industry standards. Its dedicated security and compliance team carries out regular audits to identify and address vulnerabilities, ensuring that customer data remains secure at all times.

How does Slimstock ensure its software is secure?

Slimstock develops its software following secure coding practices and conducts security assessments throughout the entire development cycle. With a three-week release cycle, its solutions are constantly updated to tackle emerging threats.

What happens if a security incident is detected?

Slimstock has a rapid and proactive incident response process designed to contain, investigate and resolve any threat efficiently. Open communication with customers is maintained throughout the entire process.

What security certifications does Slimstock hold?

Slimstock is certified to ISO 27001:2022, ensuring that strong security principles are embedded in every stage of solution development and day-to-day operations.

Where are Slimstock’s solutions hosted and what options are available?

Customers can choose between on-premise deployment or Slim4 Cloud. Slimstock’s cloud infrastructure is fully redundant, eliminating single points of failure and ensuring high levels of availability and protection.

How is Slimstock’s cloud infrastructure protected?

Slim4 Cloud combines the highest standards of physical security with advanced cloud security technologies. Malicious activity is continuously monitored and neutralised, ensuring services remain stable and accessible at all times.

What makes Slimstock’s approach to security different?

At Slimstock, security it’s embedded in every part of the organisation. From staff training to solution design, security is an integral part of the company’s culture. You can learn more about how Slimstock ensures security on our dedicated security page.

Sustainability

How does Slimstock support sustainability goals?

We help companies reduce waste, emissions and energy consumption by optimizing planning and inventory processes, making your supply chain both efficient and environmentally responsible. You can explore more in our dedicated sustainability page.

Get acquainted

Does Slim4 provide free demos?

Yes, we can provide you a free 1-to-1 Slim4 demo. But wouldn’t a tailor-made demo answer all your questions? We can do this for you. Let’s have a chat so that we know what you are looking for and we can prepare a demo, which would fit your needs.

Want to see some reviews?

On our website you can read business cases of customers from across the world, and you can see who we are working for.

Want to contact us?

Feel free to contact us here.