Demand and Inventory Planning Success Stories

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Draped in Success – Inventory Planning at Rose Brand

Draped in Success – Inventory Planning at Rose Brand

Rose Brand selected demand and inventory planning software from Smart Software as the foundation for a methodical planning process. Rose Brand is North America’s largest provider of theatrical fabrics, fabrications and production supplies for the entertainment, event and display industries.

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    Inventory Optimization for Manufacturers, Distributors, and MRO

    • Businessman and businesswoman reading and analysing spreadsheetThe top 3 reasons why your spreadsheet won’t work for optimizing reorder points on spare parts
      We often encounter Excel-based reorder point planning methods. In this post, we’ve detailed an approach that a customer used prior to proceeding with Smart. We describe how their spreadsheet worked, the statistical approaches it relied on, the steps planners went through each planning cycle, and their stated motivations for using (and really liking) this internally developed spreadsheet. […]
    • Factory worker engineer working in factory using tablet computer to check maintenance boiler water pipe in factory.Why Spare Parts Tradeoff Curves are Mission-Critical for Parts Planning
      When managing service parts, you don’t know what will break and when because part failures are random and sudden. As a result, demand patterns are most often extremely intermittent and lack significant trend or seasonal structure. The number of part-by-location combinations is often in the hundreds of thousands, so it’s not feasible to manually review demand for individual parts. Nevertheless, it is much more straightforward to implement a planning and forecasting system to support spare parts planning than you might think. […]
    • Portrait of factory worker woman with blue hardhat holds tablet and stand in spare parts workplace area. Concept of confident of working with spare parts planning software.Spare Parts Planning Isn’t as Hard as You Think
      When managing service parts, you don’t know what will break and when because part failures are random and sudden. As a result, demand patterns are most often extremely intermittent and lack significant trend or seasonal structure. The number of part-by-location combinations is often in the hundreds of thousands, so it’s not feasible to manually review demand for individual parts. Nevertheless, it is much more straightforward to implement a planning and forecasting system to support spare parts planning than you might think. […]
    • Worker on a automotive spare parts warehouse using inventory planning softwareService-Level-Driven Planning for Service Parts Businesses
      Service-Level-Driven Service Parts Planning is a four-step process that extends beyond simplified forecasting and rule-of-thumb safety stocks. It provides service parts planners with data-driven, risk-adjusted decision support. […]

    Smart IP&O, a Digital Supply Chain Platform

    Cloud Native Platform

    A single, secure, and scalable native cloud platform with multiple end user Apps that helps you predict accurately, protect against uncertainty, and plan efficiently.

    Intermittent Demand Planning

    Engineered for intermittent demand, Smart’s field proven methods succeed on even the hardest to forecast, anything but normal, unplannable items.

    Automate Supply Chain Decisions

    You’ll build automated, exception based plans that adapt and respond to frequently changing business conditions while doing away with time intensive manual planning.

    Collaborative Planning

    Share collaborative “what if” demand forecasts, inventory policies and develop an authorized consensus plan aligned to achieve business objectives.

    Probabilistic Forecasting

    Predict a range of outcomes and the probability for each possibility to accurately prescribe risk adjusted stocking policies that optimally balance service levels and cost.

    Smart ERP Integrations

    Seamlessly integrate with your system of record with an automated bi-directional data exchange that ensures alignment between planning policies and execution.

    Smart Inventory Optimization

    Reduce Excess Stock

    Optimal Inventory Levels

    Reduce excess stock
    Improve service levels
    Minimize buyer transactions
    Maximize return on assets

    Identify Stockout Risk

    Organizational Consensus

    Balance service levels
    Identify stockout risk
    Identify overstocks
    No finger-pointing

    Inventory Warehouse Connectivity

    Operational Connectivity

    Align process with strategic objectives
    Empower team to “make it so”
    Optimize as conditions change
    Pass results to ERP

    Who is Inventory Optimization for?

    Smart Inventory Optimization is for executives and business savvy planners who seek to:

    • Yield maximum returns from inventory assets.
    • Address the problem of highly variable or intermittent demand.
    • Broker the service vs. cost tradeoffs between different departments.
    • Develop a repeatable and efficient inventory planning process.
    • Empower the team to ensure operational plan is aligned with strategic plan.
    What questions can Inventory Optimization answer?
    • What is the best service level achievable with the inventory budget?
    • What service levels will yield the maximum return?
    • If lead times increased, what would it cost to maintain service?
    • If I reduce inventory, what will the impact on service be?
    • If order quantity increases, what will the impact on service and costs be?
    • What is the order quantity that balances holding and ordering costs?
    Inventory forecasting for the inventory executive

    Smart Inventory Optimization empowers you to:

    • Predict service performance and inventory costs.
    • Assess business impact of “what-if” inventory policies.
    • Align inventory policy with corporate strategy.
    • Establish an operational framework that guides the planning team.
    • Reduce inventory and improve service.

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