Küpfer implemented an effective replenishment strategy with Slim4

For more than 140 years, Küpfer has been dedicated to supplying their range of imported products to the industrial sector in Chile. From cables and steel, to electrical components and safety products, Küpfer has a clear customer-oriented strategy.

Every day, the business strives to offer greater value to their customers through improving their service. Currently, Küpfer is using Slim4 across all of their 50 locations. In total, the business offer over 300,000 unique SKUs, of which, 70.000 are delivered from stock.

6 businesses within one software environment

In addition to the extensive span of Küpfer’s supply network, which comes as a consequence of conducting business in Chile, according to Mauricio Mora, there is another great challenge when it comes to inventory optimisation: “Our portfolio consists of 6 totally different divisions. Basically, you could say we have 6 different companies rolled into one. As a result, we need to be able to adopt a different approach and a different inventory strategy for every single one of them while still managing all this through a single system”. After an extensive comparative analysis, Küpfer invested in Slimstock’s inventory management solution, Slim4. The return on investment was obtained within the first year. Furthermore, as a result of the improved replenishment process, Küpfer decreased their overall inventory value by USD $4,300,000.

The support exceeds our expectations!

Given that Slimstock, a Dutch-owned company, did not have many local customers that were fully implemented in Chile, nor did it have an office or a local team at the time, choosing Slim4 was a risk. However, according to Mauricio Mora, it was one of the greatest decisions the business made: “the service and support of Slimstock has been excellent”.

With help from the consultants at Slimstock, all of the specific business rules required for each division have been successfully translated into Slim4. This has resulted in a robust yet dynamic daily system. Mauricio goes on to add: “The consultants at Slimstock were quick in understanding our requirements and were able to deliver the solutions on a tight deadline. Any call we make to the helpdesk is always resolved, ensuring that our ordering processes always continues.”

Availability increases to over 95%

Slim4 has brought a lot of benefits to Küpfer, including the reports and visibility required to maintain control, as well as the management by exception approach which has delivered efficiency and focus.

The Slim4 users are currently adding more value to the planning and purchasing department. But Mauricio Mora still has a clear wish list for the next few years: “I would like to bring our knowledge of Slim4 and its value to an even higher level, improve the availability of the A articles to 95% and start to manage product life cycles more proactively.” Mauricio goes on to conclude: “I would also like to increase the strategic value of the planning and purchasing department in order to sustain the continued growth of this company”.