Rebopharm guarantee high availability & improve operational efficiency with dynamic ordering

Veterinary wholesaler, ReboPharm, has taken the strategic decision to connect a dynamic ordering software to the existing Microtech Büro+ ERP system. With a focus on reducing inventory, increasing the service level and improving operational efficiency, the veterinary specialist implemented Slim4 to optimise their entire approach to inventory management.

“Our main goals were to attain a 25% inventory reduction and to significantly increase the service level. Furthermore, we wanted to create time savings and reduce the workload of the planning team,” states Sabrina Hessing-Jansen, Managing Director at ReboPharm.

With over 40 years of experience in the market ReboPharm GmbH & Co. KG is one of the largest veterinary wholesalers in Germany. Offering over 30,000 items, the business supplies everything veterinarians need to run a successful practice.

Dynamically generated order proposals replace the manual process

To guarantee both, ReboPharm started looking for an inventory management tool that could help optimise its supply chain processes.

The businesses needed a solution that could use historical data in the ERP to dynamically generate optimised order proposals. Furthermore, the tool needed to have the capability to secure availability while helping the team to simplify the ordering process.

In the past, the planning team pulled data directly from the Microtech Büro+ ERP system to support the procurement process. Reorder levels were calculated for each individual based on the sales figures and the individual planner’s knowledge. Only then would the reorder level be manually placed in the system.

Once the reorder level was reached, the ERP system suggested an order. These were then manually checked again by the planning team before the order was eventually placed. However, as the number of products grew, this complex process led to an increasing number of errors. Furthermore, the success was limited by the experience and knowledge of the planners.

Slim4 ensures high availability

To build a more reliable and data-based ordering process, ReboPharm decided to invest in an advanced software solution that would ensure optimal inventory management.

To ensure a smooth selection and the subsequent implementation process, the veterinary wholesaler put together a special project team that defined the requirements and managed the tender process.

Focused on purchasing, procurement, IT and finance, Sabrina Hessing-Jansen has managed ReboPharm in partnership with Inga Koenen since January 2021. Explaining the business’ requirements, the director adds: “It was important to us that the future system could support our complex operation as well as help us with the heavy lifting. Slimstock convinced us that Slim4 was the best tool to support our needs.”

“The requirements we placed on the software were demanding as our business is completely unique. As a specialist wholesaler for veterinarians, we carry over 30,000 items – including human and veterinary medicines, practice supplies, disposable items, laboratory and operating room supplies, medical technology, care products and feed supplements. Each product group has different characteristics that need to be taken into account,” states Sabrina Hessing-Jansen.

The director continues: “This ranges from managing items with very short expiry dates to managing items that are only ordered upon special customer request. In addition, some of our items are subject to seasonal fluctuations and promotional demand. In this respect, we also needed to enrich our master data with new fields to be able to manage these requirements in Slim4.”

Fantastic support before, during & after

Due to the specific requirements of each product group, Slimstock has adapted and fine-tuned the software to support ReboPharm’s needs.

Sabrina Hessing-Jansen highlights the collaboration between the two companies: “Slimstock were always on hand during the implementation phase to help with our problems. Their expert consultants worked hard to find solutions or alternative paths to help us realise our goal. And even now after the project has been completed, Slimstock continues to offer great support.”

As Head of Supply Chain, Sabrina Hessing-Jansen was involved in the project throughout. She now uses Slim4 to monitor key performance indicators. As a result, she has a complete overview of the inventory performance; a prerequisite for operational and strategic decision-making.

New employees can plan “correctly” right away

Slim4 has now been live for over two years. Among other things, the software has delivered the time savings the business hoped to attain. The planning team no longer have to calculate reorder levels and review every item manually.

Every day, Slim4 dynamically calculates the reorder levels at an item or product group level using a wide variety of algorithms.

Based on these dynamic calculations, Slim4 automatically creates order quantity proposals taking into account anticipated demand and safety stock requirements. With the To-Do list function within Slim4, these proposals appear on each planner’s dashboard to process as soon as they open Slim4.

In addition to saving time and simplifying ordering decisions, this has another advantage: “Thanks to the automatically generated order advice, even inexperienced employees can plan “correctly”. The experience and knowledge that the employees only had in their heads has been captured. With the help of Slim4, we can ensure that everyone orders the right amount at the right time.”

Slim4 mitigate procurement risks during the Covid Pandemic

The time that the planning team have saved is now being used to find new suppliers who can ensure supply amidst the covid disruption.

However, the corona pandemic has is also had an impact on the other goals that ReboPharm wanted to attain with Slim4. Sabrina Hessing-Jansen sums up the past few months: “At the end of 2019, we could see that we were on track to attain our main goals. However, due to Covid-19, everything turned upside down. We have significantly more in stock than we otherwise would. The service level improvements are also suffering as the global effects of the pandemic caused supply chain bottlenecks. This continues to have an impact today and will probably continue until 2022. However, we can say that without the introduction of Slim4, the current procurement situation would have been far more difficult to navigate.”

Until the effects of the coronavirus calm down, the veterinary wholesaler is entirely foregoing the new inventory targets. Instead, ReboPharm is focused on ensuring a reliable supply to its customers.