Cecauto is one of the main auto parts distributors in Spain. The company has a large network of associated stores to which it distributes its products in the best conditions. In addition, Cecauto has an important network of flagged workshops. To optimally manage all this activity, the company has the help of Slim4.

Cecauto optimises its stock in full crisis with Slim4

To speak of Cecauto is to speak of a leading business holding company in the distribution of spare parts and accessories for the automotive industry. Thanks to its 9 warehouses and its more than 250 professionals who are specialists in the sector, Cecauto takes advantage of the latest technologies to offer a fast and precise service to its customers. With Slimstock, Cecauto has managed to reduce its stock by more than 1 million euros, substantially improving customer service where there was potential for improvement. Additionally, the project has made it possible to optimise the procurement processes for the entire Group.

“We were very aware that improving our inventory management was a pressing need. Reducing the stock by improving the level of service is undoubtedly the key, both for our business and for our profitability and future ”, affirms the General Director of Purchasing of Cecauto, Miguel Menéndez.

Achieved goals

With this clear premise, the team got down to work. Reducing unnecessary stock, improving the level of service, avoiding obsolete stock and making the correct decisions regarding purchasing management. These became a priority at the start of the project. Of the 9 warehouses that Cecauto has in Spain, all the larger ones that represent a greater volume of business have increased their availability, have improved their turnover and at the same time have reduced their stock by 15% in the first 6 months.

The importance of managing the assortment

Regarding an aspect as important as the product assortment, Cecauto’s General Purchasing Director is very forceful: “When you work with more than 150,000 references, many of them with very low turnover and with a high risk of obsolescence, one of two: either you handle information that is quick and easy to interpret, or a large part of those references will end up burying thousands of euros in the bottom of your warehouse ”.

In this sense, Slimstock’s inventory optimisation software, Slim4, improves the management of the assortment by providing, on the one hand, good demand forecasts, and on the other, an exhaustive control of the behavior of the references. “This is very important, because it allows us to determine everything that we must have in stock and what happens to be managed on request or with direct deliveries from the supplier”.

Postage, discounts, suppliers…

“With Slim4 we have the tool that allows us to determine when we come to cover postage when placing an order, we can assess whether or not it is interesting to make a purchase based on a series of criteria. And it also helps us significantly improve our purchasing planning and our negotiations with suppliers,” says Menéndez. In short, with the integration of Slim4 software and its ERP, Cecauto’s management team has managed to take another step in the search for excellence in management that has made them the leading company in the sector of the distribution of spare parts and automotive accessories in Spain.