There is an inherent balancing act when it comes to holding inventory. You need enough stock to deliver on your promises to customers, but you also must minimise stock spend. Too little stock reduces funds tied up in inventory, but it also increases the risk of not meeting your orders. The inverse is true with too much stock: More spend on inventory but less risk with order fulfillment, along with the added risk of waste through aging or damage.

Andrew de Bray Managing Director Factum Ltd.

Walking this inventory optimisation tightrope is the bane of existence for every organisation that stores and tracks physical goods, from wholesalers to manufacturers. However, it’s the reality of today’s logistical landscape.

Why?

Customer Demand Increases Operating Pressure

Today’s customers expect greater convenience. While in years past, it was acceptable to hold stock and have reasonable logistics delays due to restocking and shipping, those days are gone.

Both business and consumer customers want their products in days, not weeks. They have more suppliers to choose from and higher expectations from whom they choose.

In store or on the web, customers want to be able to select their item, arrange or make payment, and receive it as soon as possible, whether it’s the latest smartphone, a garden hose, or live tropical fish (which require a host of storage and environmental changes).

Additionally, they want a no-hassle return policy, whether because the item is faulty or they just dislike it. And they have the tools and channels to publicly rate and comment on service, further increasing the pressure on suppliers to perform to perfection.

These heightened expectations make it more difficult and complex for organisations to operate efficiently and maintain balance between their stock and available capital. So how can they optimise inventory without breaking the bank?

Factum + EazyStock Make Optimisation Simple

Factum is a boutique consultancy with global expertise that can help businesses visualise and map their strengths and weaknesses in this area, along with the data points and analysis needed to improve inventory management. In addition, Factum’s knowledge and experience with tools that aid stock optimisation – such as ERP, WMS, order management, and web technologies – provide quick, practical, successful solutions to business challenges inhibiting good stock management.

In addition, EazyStock is the technology that helps bridge our consulting expertise with your stock challenges. It is the leading, cloudbased inventory optimisation solution that helps you improve service levels, save money on inventory costs, and win back time from automating manual, inefficient processes – in as few as 3-6 months after connecting to your ERP system.

EazyStock accomplishes this by:

• Calculating pattern-driven demand forecasts to improve planning accuracy across all your inventory.

• Generating optimal inventory parameters, such as buffer stock, order levels, and order quantities – even across multiple locations.

• Producing both standard and customised KPI dashboards for a quick overview of service levels and inventory distribution.

• Tracking all your marketing and sales campaigns that impact your demand and stocking decisions.

FACTUM

Tel: 0333 456 1589

www.factumltd.com/eazystock

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