Valogix Inventory Planner for Major Industries
Valogix Inventory Planner for Major Industries
Aftermarket Service Parts
Aftermarket service covers the maintenance and repair of equipment and machinery. Spare parts inventory management is a prime candidate. With many parts to manage and a lack of power tools, most companies with parts inventories have too many of the wrong parts. The result is unnecessary inventory expense, while still suffering service-limiting stock-outs.
Manual efforts to improve this situation fail, because of the time-intensive nature of the problem. A large number of parts, each with special considerations, quickly bog down someone trying to improve the parts purchases. Whether planning for one location or multiple locations, service parts planning is a daunting task.
Aftermarket Service Parts Challenges
- Difficulty in manually setting min, max, & safety stock levels
- Limited ability to accurately forecast future demand
- Stock-outs
- Low inventory turns
- Excess and obsolete inventory
- High current inventory costs with wrong mix of inventory items
- Continually changing installed customer base
- Manual processes for determining what to stock, how much, when to order, and where to place it
- Problem correctly stocking Field Service Technicians trunk stock
How Valogix Handles Service Parts Challenges
- Robust replenishment planning automatically sets optimal stocking quantity (SQ)
- Forecast for every item at every location is generated by the system using the method that fits the demand pattern best
- Automated replenishment plan prepares the new purchases, transfers and or work orders for immediate approval and action
- Optimization – reduces costs and improves service
- Exception based – alerts warn of future issues
- Provides visibility to all items and locations
- No second guessing where stock is or where stock is needed
Automotive Aftermarket Spare Parts
Automotive Aftermarket Challenges
According to the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association key action items for aftermarket companies are to:
- Improve performance metrics, especially at the SKU level.
- Improve data and analytical capabilities including point-of-sale based forecasting and regression forecasting models, while sharing demand information across the supply chain
- Adopt pricing strategies that consider the full cost and value to the customer rather than focusing on matching or beating competition.
- Establish strategic differentiation to increase operation effectiveness.
Advanced Inventory Management from Valogix® Inventory Planner enables small and midsize aftermarket companies to optimize inventory levels and streamline supply chain processes by connecting with sales data, including current sales levels and predictions of future demand for automotive products and services. Aftermarket companies can generate real-time reports that recommended stocking levels and dates for inventory replenishment orders to lower inventory investments, replenishment expenditures and costs from emergency shipments.
VALOGIX Inventory Planner determines which items to stock, which items to order, and which items are excess or overstocked. It manages an unlimited number of items and locations, and provides flexibility while different planning parameters allow more precise planning. It helps you manage by exception. The software’s intelligence provides “Alerts” of potential problems, before they occur… saving you valuable time and assisting you to avoid potentially serious Customer Satisfaction problems.
How Valogix Handles the Challenges
- Robust replenishment planning automatically sets optimal stocking quantity
- Forecast for all parts is generated by the system using the method that fits the individual part demand pattern best
- Automated replenishment prepares the new purchases, transfers
- and or work orders for immediate approval and action
- Optimization – reduces costs and improves service
- Exception based – alerts warn of future issues
- Provides visibility to all parts and locations
- No second guessing where stock is or where stock is needed
- Analytics on inventory investment and forward aging
Dealer and Franchise
If you own a small business that carries inventory and are part of a dealer network, buying group, co-op or franchise organization, then Valogix Planning solutions are just right for you.
Stocking and replenishing the inventory is up to you and that is no easy task, especially in today’s economy. Inventory management has become more challenging and being a part of an eco-system (group or franchise) brings other challenges. You may still be maintaining inventories manually and performing complicated computations using spreadsheets and older replenishment methods. Keeping track of reorder points can become an overwhelming task as your business grows and standard inventory control modules and spreadsheets offer little help in driving down costs and improving revenues.
There is an additional advantage to being a part of a franchise or buying group. Valogix Inventory Planner is available as Software-as-a-Service which allows you and your group to benefit and receive dramatic inventory reduction savings and productivity gains without disrupting your customer service.
The benefits of VALOGIX Inventory Planner are:
- Saves time and money
- Increases productivity
- Reduces costs and planning time
- Helps improve your competitive advantage
In less than six months, our customers routinely:
- Reduce inventory by 20 to 60%
- Increase productivity by up to 85%
- Reduce stock-outs and overstocks, shipping costs and lost sales
- Increase sales by having the right stock on hand
- Improve customer satisfaction levels
Advantages of VALOGIX SaaS are:
- No additional software needed – use your browser to start planning
- No complex hardware requirements and costs
- Updates and upgrades are automatic – no maintenance to perform24 x 7 planning availability
- Secure, robust infrastructure protects your valuable information
- Lower up front costs and service fees
E-commerce
E-Commerce Inventory Challenges
- Difficulty in manually setting min and max levels
- Forecasting future demand
- Stock-outs of key items
- Category management
- Low inventory turns on a majority of items
- Excess and obsolete inventory
- Wrong mix of inventory items
- Continually changing customer preferences
- Manual processes for determining what to stock, how much, when to order, and where to place it
E-Commerce has changed not only the way we shop but the way companies operate. Many virtual companies offer goods on-line and employ 3rd party logistics companies to do all the storing and shipping. However, inventory planning is the purvey of the company and may be done by the owner or a staff member.
E-commerce incorporates business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) and other variations. The new virtual storefronts have added complexity to planning especially if the business also maintains its own stocking locations and other manufacturing facilities.
How Valogix Handles the Challenges
- Robust replenishment planning automatically sets optimalstocking quantity
- Forecast for every item at every location is generated by the system using the method that fits the demand pattern best
- Automated replenishment prepares the new purchases, transfersand or work orders for immediate approval and action
- Optimization – reduces costs and improves service
- Exception based – alerts warn of future issues
- Provides visibility to all items and locations
- No second guessing where stock is or where stock is needed
Wholesale Distribution
Distributors manage the process of storing, shipping, and transporting goods. They cover all the major markets and industries from Commercial, to Industrial, to Retail. Competition is fierce, health care costs are rising, finding and keeping good employees is more difficult, and subsequently, margins are being depressed. Many distributors import goods from overseas and have the added burden of filling containers, managing the receipt of goods through customs, and long transit times. The need to enhance processes and automate inventory planning are top on the list of priorities.
Distribution Inventory Challenges
- Difficulty in setting min, max, & safety stock levels
- Accurately forecasting future demand
- Properly filling Ocean Containers or Trucks
- Stock-outs of essential items
- Low inventory turns
- Excess and obsolete inventory
- High current inventory costs
- Wrong mix of inventory items
- Manual processes for determining what to stock, how much, when to order, and where to place it
How Valogix Handles the Challenges
- Forecasting – up to 36 months
- Replenishment planning-new orders, transfers, work orders – by Item and Location
- Optimization – reduces costs & improves service
- Exception based – alerts warn of future shortage issues
- Provide Visibility to All Items and Locations
- No second guessing where stock is or where stock is needed
- Planning Groups increase productivity and performance
- Innovative Virtual Deployment
- Valogix automated solutions help define your workload
Manufacturing & Assembly
Managing Manufacturing Challenges
- Forecasting of all demand
- Production of both make-to-order and make-to-stock
- Optimization for efficiency and cost control
- Simple but effective especially in managing forward orders
- Exception based – alerts warn of potential future issues
- Provides visibility to all items and locations:
- Available inventory components as well as finished goods
- Time-Phased Planning
Valogix enhances the Assembly Planning capability.
Efficiently managing your supply chain is a critical element to your business and one that is very complex. Valogix inventory planning solutions are proprietary multi-stage planning engines. This means the entire process from forecasting to inventory rationalization and optimization, to planning and replenishment is managed within one solution, providing several advantages over competitive solutions where multiple modules are required to manage this process.
Valogix uses a Bill of Material (BOM) hierarchy source and establishes the ‘level’ of a component i.e. parent level (Level 1) sub assembly level (s) (Level 2) Raw Material Level (s) (Level 3). It accommodates a component with different levels in different bills. It also manages forward orders from customers.
Component History
At the component level, usage history is derived from sales history (orders or invoices) of all make-to-order or make-to-stock parents x (times) quantity for each component needed. This ‘Usage’ history is added to any independent sales history of the component. A components forecast is based on its aggregated usage/demand.
Managing Assembly Challenges
- Stock-outs
- Demand & Lead Time Variability
- Difficulty in setting stocking levels
- Increased reliance on foreign imports
- Slow, excess and obsolete inventory
- Limited ability to forecast & plan accurately
- Wrong mix and amount of in-stock items
- Complexity in determining how much to make, buy, transfer
Maintenance, Repair and Operations
The “MRO” acronym has two different spell-outs, depending on the situation. Organizations like power generation plants (utilities) and manufacturers with large, complex plants need to keep the facilities in good repair. This activity is called “Maintenance, Repair, and Operations.” This also includes building and equipment maintenance for Schools, Office buildings, Hospitals, Hotels, Apartment complexes, etc.
Organizations with fleets of transportation equipment (air planes, railroad cars, trucks, or automobiles) need “Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul” service to keep this equipment in good working order. Common usage refers to the parts used for MRO as “spare parts,” rather than “service parts.”
MRO Inventory Challenges
- Limited or no forward visibility and planning
- Unreliable commit dates from suppliers
- Chronic “rush and expedite” orders
- Large inventory levels with low inventory accuracy
- Long procurement lead times
- High inventory obsolescence
- Little ability to rapidly adjust mix and resources on true demand
- Change in plant & equipment schedules alter PM schedules
Managing MRO Challenges
- Forecasting of all demand
- Production of both make-to-order and make-to-stock
- Optimization for efficiency and cost control
- Simple but effective especially in managing forward orders
- Exception based – alerts warn of potential future issues
- Provides visibility to all items and locations:
- Available inventory components as well as finished goods
- Time-Phased Planning
Retail
Retail Inventory Challenges
- Difficulty in manually setting min and max levels
- Forecasting future demand
- Stock-outs of key items
- Low inventory turns on a majority of items
- Excess and obsolete inventory
- Wrong mix of inventory items
- Continually changing customer preferences
- What to stock, how much, and when to order & transfer
Retail manages and sells finished goods that the retailers think will sell. There are usually a very large number of different products, particularly with distinctions such as size, color, and style. Demand can be reasonably steady, as with food and hardware or highly seasonal, as with clothes. For steady demand items, retailers tend to set an order point and order quantity. For example, whenever the number of an item in stock goes below 3, order 12 more.
For seasonal items, retailers usually buy the items from suppliers before the season, and there is seldom a chance for replenishing stocks mid-season if the item is a big seller. Experienced fashion buyers may earn their salaries by predicting what items will sell in what quantities in a region and even by store.
Managing Retail Challenges
- Forecasting of all demand
- Production of both make-to-order and make-to-stock
- Optimization for efficiency and cost control
- Simple but effective especially in managing forward orders
- Exception based – alerts warn of potential future issues
- Provides visibility to all items and locations:
- Available inventory components as well as finished goods
- Time-Phased Planning