Schrauwen

The growth ambitions of Schrauwen are evident across the business. In recent years, the technical wholesaler has doubled the number of stores while increasing the size of the assortment by more than 25%.

As a result, turnover has more than doubled. Thanks to Slim4, however, the business was still able to achieve a stock reduction of over 25%. Furthermore, the team at Schrauwen succeeded in increasing the service level from 95% to more than 98%.

As part of the CRH Group, Schrauwen is one of largest wholesalers in sanitary, heating and renewable energy in Belgium. With 13 branches across the Antwerp region, the business has worked hard to sustain this impressive rate of growth. Sander De Deckere, Logistics Manager at Schrauwen, explains: “Over the past decade, the number of branches has almost doubled.”

The assortment has also grown considerably. In 2015, the wholesaler stocked around 6,000 SKUs. Today, the assortment is comprised of more than 8,000 SKUs: “and that number is still rising,” states De Deckere. In order to keep up with the growth and further improve the performance of the logistics operation, Schrauwen moved into a brand-new logistics centre in 2017. Located in Herentals, the new facilities expand over 12,000 m2 with over 10,000 pallet locations.

With the implementation of Slimstock’s inventory optimisation solution, Slim4, the wholesaler has benefited from greater insight. As a result, the team now have a much tighter grip on the increasing stock levels.

With the aid of Slim4’s order generator, the service level increased from 95% to 98%% within just one year. “Despite the ever-growing range, we have also been able to reduce our stock value by 25%. Now that we have the right insights to manage exceptions, we can focus more of our time on phasing products in and out more effectively. This has ultimately helped us to further strengthen our competitive position.

Furthermore, with the help of Slim4, Schrauwen has re-organised the ordering process to increase the efficiency of their operation. “We have achieved significant efficiency improvements in terms of how we deploy our people, a benefit which offers considerable advantages for the entire supply chain.”

De Deckere is convinced that there is more come: “We are now using Slim4 to further optimise the replenishment of our stores to ensure that the right items are available in the right quantities at the right time.

Our goal is to further increase service levels by taking advantage of Slimstock’s expertise. For example, we will ensure our colleagues take part in the Slimstock Academy. I am certain that together with Slimstock and Slim4, we can realise our growth ambitions while simultaneously improving the service we provide our customers.”