EET Europarts is one of the world’s largest IT-distributors and sells print and spare parts, and they sell accessories to computers, sound, and networks in all of Europe. The EET Group has sales offices in 27 countries over most of Europe. The group employs almost 600 employees, serves more than 46.000 dealers, and expedites more than 1 million deliveries a year. Most of the dispositions mainly happen manually through approx. 15 schedulers, spread out around Europe. Many sales offices also have their own stock.

The journey
In September 2019, the EET Europarts began the implementation of Service Optimizer 99+ (SO99+), which is sold and implemented by Optilon. The first countries aired in February, incl. the main storage in Ballerup. More countries joined in March. The purpose was to update the company’s approach to planning through Supply Chain, so that it matched the commercial requirements with regards to responsiveness and volatility, which is experienced in the market.

Tom Kjærulf, Logistics Director of the EET Group says: “We’ve only just began that application of SO995 and it generally happened simultaneously with the spread of the coronavirus, but we are in control. I don’t even dare to think about how our commercial situation would have looked, if we had not implemented SO99+. Earlier, we used Axapta and a lot of Excel sheets to make the best decisions regarding order sizes and delivery time etc., but these were not optimal decisions.”

Results
We have a lot of the same items spread out on several repositories, but with a very limited overview of how the other repositories organize their storage. Often, we made local, but not holistic optimization, and this entailed unnecessarily high storage costs and not always the best levels of service.

Today, all our items and repositories are established in SO99+, and we are in control. Twice a day, the SO99+ is updated with the latest Supply and Demand-data, and we can quickly get an extensive overview of the situation. We can see the consequences of lacking deliveries from, for instance, China, and observe the changes in demand. A lot of the “trivial” dispositions have now been automated, which means we have more time for the meaningful decisions. Without SO99+, we would have been chanceless.

Optilon is a trustworthy and competent partner
The implementation of SO99+ has been executed satisfactorily. The Optilon consultants are competent, energetic, and pedagogical. Optilon has been great with regards to explaining complex problems in a simple and comprehensible way. Beyond this, Optilon has explicitly shown that they understand our business. We’ve had many great, professional discussions with the Optilon consultants, and they’re not afraid to challenge our way of thinking.

We can clearly feel that Optilon has done a lot of SO99+ projects, and they know how one attains commercial value from the system. Optilon also has a good understanding of our company, and this gives us a sense of safety. It has given us a sense of safety during the implementation process, and it continually gives us a sense of safety, so that we are well-prepared for the challenges of the future. Now, we’re looking forward to begin using SO99+ in our everyday life, and we have particularly high expectations that the expected results are attained.

Thule has made several important changes in the last years going from a decentralized set-up based on demand planning to a  more centralized process. Their positive results have been significant.

The Challenge
Prior to using Optilon’s Supply Chain Planning platform, Thule’s forecasting process had been based first on Excel, later on, decentralized demand planning.  To obtain better forecasts the process was centralized but this brought too much manual work and a lack of connection between service and inventory. 

The solution to these problems has been to implement ServiceOptimizer99+ (SO99+) from ToolsGroup as well as a new process implemented by Optilon. The new solution covers Thule’s biggest product segment Outdoor. The Outdoor segment has a global customer base consisting primarily of distributors within Cars and Sports, a significant portion of sales goes to OES customers in the automotive industry.  There are six factories in  Europe, one central warehouse, five regional distribution centers, and more than 4000 finished goods. Two of the major challenges are a distinct summer season and uneven demands.

Summing up we could say:

  • Forecasting required too much manual work
  • Seasonal demand spikes
  • Slow movers with intermittent demand

The Journey
Thule’s  Outdoor segment called upon Optilon to implement an automated forecasting system that delivered a more efficient and accurate demand planning process. Thule’sDemand  Planner,  Michael  Wolfsteiner,  explained  the  uniqueness  of  the  solution, based on ToolsGroup’s SO99+ software,

“Traditional demand planning considers demand history in terms of quantity only, ignoring customer order lines. ToolsGroup’s SO99+ on the other hand analyzes the demand history both in terms of quantity and customer order lines, in order to better model the shape of the demand.  The  close  connection between desired service level and inventory level is very positive.”

The solution included inventory optimization. Thule‘s old safety stock routine was based on a seasonally dependent coverage rate (e.g., number of days’ average demand). The new optimization instead starts from an aggregated service level target and defined service levels for each SKU,  taking advantage of a wide variety of variables, such as demand variation, average demand, order frequency, costs and lead time. It modifies service and coverage to maximize the overall use of the capital within a pre-defined “service group”. Minimum service levels are set for business-critical items. The system also included rough-cut planning to identify requirements to pre-build stock due to capacity limitations. The actual replenishment is still done in the ERP system.

The Results
The project has brought a common, more efficient, and accurate demand planning process within the Outdoor segment. 

The new solution with SO99+ means forecasts and safety stock levels in the ERP are automatically updated every week based on optimizations in SO99+.  Thule‘s old safety stock routine was based on a  defined seasonal dependent coverage rate (setting number of days’ average demand).

SO99+ instead starts from an aggregated service level target;  the optimizer defines service levels for each SKU  to reach the aggregated service level target using an objective function. The optimization in SO99+ leads to distinct deviation in service and coverage within a service level group to maximize the overall use of the capital.

The project have helped Thule reach the following KPIs: –Service level increased by more than 20 points, from 75% to 95+% –Outdoor segment average inventory was reduced by more than $2 million–Workload reduced by 75%

Summing up results:

  • Servicelevel increased by more than 20% points from 75 to 95%
  • Workload reduced by 75%
  • Managed to centralize and automate the forecasting process
  • Reduced average inventory for the outdoor segment by more than 2 million USD

Orthex  Group,  a  leading  manufacturer  of  household  products  in  the  Nordic, operates in a sector where the customers have high demands on short lead times and on-time delivery. When unexpected large orders are common and the company growth  increases Supply Chain complexity, it puts pressure on the production planning process and the planners involved.

The Challenge
For Orthex, unexpected large orders are very common and usually have a short delivery time between 48 hours and a week. Such short lead times require a production flexibility and an ability for quick adaption. To ensure customer satisfaction and product availability, a streamlined production is of most importance.  As Orthex has grown, also the production and factory planning has become more complex and time-consuming.

Prior  to  using  Compass,  Orthex  had  been  using  another  production  planning  application. Since  the  previous  software  was  implemented, the demand for a modern planning application had increased. Orthex now needed more functionality, a higher level of automation and the ability to plan the production for a multisite network on an operational, as well as a tactical level.

To secure sustainable growth, while keeping the same number of employees in the planning and purchasing department, Orthex took the decision to start looking for a more modern planning application. This would bring the ability to plan ahead instead of catching up on orders, and to find a partner and solution to grow together with rather than grow apart from.

Summing up we could say that:

  • Company growth and increasing Supply Chain complexity
  • Previous planning method was not sustainable with the resources at hand
  • A planning system that would not meet the future requirements  

The Journey
Orthex and Optilon have  a  long  relationship  that  has  consisted  of  several  previous application implementations. When Orthex started looking for a new planning application, Optilon  was  a  natural  partner  and  advisor.  This  gave  Optilon  the  opportunity  to demonstrate  the  competitive  advantage  a  modern  planning  tool  as  Compass  could  give. Orthex evaluated other applications as well, but in the end, the decision to choose Optilon and Compass was made based on two main aspects. Partially the fit Compass had to Orthex needs, but also the trust Orthex has towards Optilon from previous projects.

The project consisted of software implementation, training of end users, and validation and refining of the master data. The projects have had a smooth implementation, which  is  mostly  thanks  to  a  successful cooperation between Orthex and Optilon.

“It  is  fantastic  to  work  with  consultants  that are competent and committed to the project. The consultants of Optilon have shown a clear will to ensurethat the project outcome will reach or exceed the expectations. The consultants at Optilon understand how we operate our daily business and they have not been  afraid  to  question weaknesses in our production  planning process”  says  Peter Ottosson, Chief Operations Officer at Orthex Group. 

Peter Ottosson also sees the value in Optilon’s role as a holistic supply chain advisor,

“In my  experience, consultants tend  to focus solely on assuring that the application is properly implemented and that it runs smoothly. They are, for instance, forgetting about keeping  the  end-user  involved  in  the  process so that the  user  understands, why the system is implemented and how it will affect their work. This has not been the case with Optilon. This is important considering the total “switching cost”. It determines how long it will take until the end-users have gained a sufficient level of skill and feel comfortable using the system”.

The Results
Orthex  has identified many positive outcomes from the project. Working in Compass is faster and smoother. It also gives the planner more flexibility and new functionality that makes the planning easier.

“Using  Compass has  given  me  an  increased  sense  of  control,  which  is  important  for  a person in my role. I also feel like I use less time for planning than before. Now I can put more time on analyzing exceptional cases like delayed orders and backlogs” says Therese Dahl, Production Planner, Orthex Group

The planner’s freed up time has also led to a more versatile workday. They can now take part in smaller projects on top of their daily jobs, which has proven to be a real contribution for the planner’s job satisfaction. Before  implementing  Compass,  Orthex  used  an  application  that  was  slower  to  use  and that  was  more  dependent  on  manual  control.  Since  Orthex  receives  many  unexpected large orders, it was next to impossible to plan successfully. The planning process with Compass today is not depending as much on manual control and it is a lot more robust. 

With Compass, Orthex has been able to take a big step towards 100% planning control.

Summing up on results:

  • Faster and smoother planning process
  • Time freed up for exception analysis
  • Increased sense of 100% control
  • Happier production planners with more versatile workdays

Purchasing teams handling inbound products and materials from suppliers often find themselves in a continuos loop of reactive, time-consuming and often manual tracking exercises when suppliers deliver late. Similarly, sales and customer service teams face the reality of handling dissatisfied customers when outbound orders, in turn, are delivered late to the final customer. Regardless if delay is in- or outbound, it is often a contributing factor in overall Supply Chain interruptions, increasing business risk, generating resource cost and increasing customer dissatisfaction.

Our Predictive Order Monitoring solution (or POM in short) uses AI models that can accurately predict which purchase or customer order will arrive late, this long before the order is dispatched. Through the Optilon Web Interface, team members can then view predictive statuses and taken proactive actions to course-correct delay.

90% precision in predicting order delay
We delivered a soluton for a global manufacturer who historically had experienced order delays from the suppliers. The AI model delivered a results close to 90% precision compared to the reality.

Summing up we could say that the solution:

  • Predicts supplier reliability and customer deliverability, order by order, day by day
  • The AI model continuously learns and predicts order delay and recommends proactive actions
  • The solution decreases order and production issues and creates a better customer satisfaction

It is time to say goodbye to manually corrected Supply Chain data
A vast majority of Supply Chain data correction is still today handled either manually in Excel or via static and manually-defined rule-based processes in SQL or other types of data applications. These ways of correcting data is typically very time-consuming, error-prone and do not handle changes in the data very well since it is by default static. Since clean and accurate data is the cornerstone of effective Supply Chain planning and optimization, we want to empower our clients with a data correction solution that quickly and automatically handles this process, reducing overall risk and cost in the process.

Robotic Data Correction utilizes Machine Learning
Robotic Data Correction (or RDC in short) uses Machine Learning models that automatically detect data inconsistencies without any human-defined rules and learns over time from user acceptance of corrections recommendations and new data values. it has not seen before, ultimately being able to quickly to correct any relational data values.

One of our valued customers utilized RDC to improve the quality of their addresses and achieved a 3% annual domestic cost improvement on their transportation costs, as they were able to consolidate their shipments. At the same time it reduced the data correction project time-to-completion with 95%. The accuracy of the model showed up to 90% data correction accuracy.

What data can RDC correct?
RDC can correct any type of Supply Chain data that has relations to other held data, including but not limited to:

  • Customer and supplier addresses
  • Item data such as lead time and cost
  • Network data such as routing codes
  • Material data such as status codes
  • Service data such as service class
  • Demand data such as incorrect peaks
  • Transport data such as delivery mode
Where is RDC data used?
RDC corrected data can be directly integrated with several line-of-business systems and business processes including:
 
  • ERP source systems such as SAP, Infor M3, Microsoft Dynamics and IFS
  • Planning processes such as demand forecasting and production planning
  • Operational TMS and MES systems
 
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