Horeca Logistic Services chooses Slim4 to improve customer service

The Beverage distributor, Horeca Logistic Services (HLS) will implement Slim4 to achieve a higher level of service as to reduce operating costs. “In our current inventory system, it is not possible to align safety stocks and order levels with seasonal variations in demand,” states logistic director, Patrick Verougstraete.

Horeca Logistic Services (HLS) is the largest independent beverage distributor in Belgium and supplies over 3,000 catering businesses and other companies across various branches. “Because of our national coverage, we can also service the needs of major chains such as Van der Valk Hotels, Le Pain Quotidien and Exki,” explains Verougstraete. Due to its success and growth, the company’s product range has doubled in five years to 3,000 SKUs, of which 2,500 are stocked.

Differentiation for seasons and locations

It became increasingly difficult for HLS to maintain the right stock levels. The business depended on Excel and a lot of manual work. Verougstraete:
“Growth in our range is not the only challenge we face, we also have to deal with seasonality and local variation in demand where certain drink as sold much more in one region than in another. This requires maintaining different stock levels during the year and per location, and our current method made that simply impossible.”

Better service, lower costs

With the decision to implement Slim4, HLS expect improve service to customers while simultaneously reducing inventory. Given that Slim4 has the capability to calculate optimal order quantities, the team can ensure suppliers deliver full pallets and trucks which, in turn, will help reduce logistics costs. “Furthermore, by improving our service levels, we will have fewer backorders and late deliveries.”