Optimise Supply Chain

Effective supply chain planning, demand forecasting, DC and store replenishment and inventory management are critical for controlling the flow of merchandise in an efficient and cost effective way. However, when SKU-store stock distribution is analysed maldistribution, a symptom of a sub-optimal supply chain, is usually observed. When your customer wants to make a purchase your supply chain needs to have made sure that the item they want is on the shelf and in sufficient quantity to meet their needs...

Retail Acumen analyse the health of a retail supply chain by understanding more about the SKU-store distribution of stock for very stable SKUs - those with limited demand variability and negligible seasonality. Demand forecasting for SKUs of this type is straightforward, they don't require complex replenishment algorithms. The ideal stock per store would simply be store minimum display quantity plus X days store sales cover (covering for average replenishment lead time).

Retail Acumen analysis shows the spread of stores above, below and within ideal stock levels, highlighting the risks of lost sales and stock obsolescence due to maldistribution even when the total store stock levels meet company targets.

Supply Chain Risk Factors

Retail Acumen have mapped detailed causal factors that impact on store stock levels. In a supply chain optimisation process our team would work through each factor, identifying which are most important to our clients' supply chain effectiveness and investigating which are most likely to put the supply chain at risk of poor performance. The outcome is a prioritised list of actions to be implemented to reduce maldistribution and associated lost sales / excess stock levels in future.