SmartOps Software Improves Inventory Planning and Demand Forecasting for Retail
and Distribution Industries

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For retailers and distributors, SmartOps enables inventory optimization across the total supply chain, coupled with improved demand forecasting and replenishment decision support.

In an uncertain consumer economy, retailers are struggling with many challenges in their supply chains: How can they work with suppliers to find the optimal plans that reduce inventory exposure? How much inventory buffer is needed by product across the supply chain, given forecast uncertainties? What can they do to compete on customer service levels? How can they increase product margins by finding new opportunities to reduce net landed cost?

Retailers: SmartOps is working with retailers to improve inventory planning across the total supply chain -- from vendors to warehouses, DCs, and stores -- as well as to improve their demand forecasting and replenishment decisions to enable the lowest possible cost of supply. Retail customers use SmartOps solutions as a way to gain a competitive advantage by managing inventories smarter and freeing up cash to make their supply chain operations more profitable.

Distributors: SmartOps recognizes that distributors for supply networks have a unique set of challenges: They are in the business of satisfying customer demand to ensure a positive image for both their company and the suppliers they represent, but they are reliant on inherent supply-side variability and uncertainties. What are each supplier's lead times? How do they vary? What is the reliability? How do all those factors vary across suppliers, SKUs, locations/markets, and time?

SmartOps delivers a new, more analytical way for retail and distribution companies to determine how much inventory they should carry, given dynamic demand patterns and supplier uncertainties. Rather than relying on rules-of-thumb experience or more safety stock, SmartOps software solutions let planners optimize inventory targets while accounting for inherent uncertainties in the data and total costs associated with different customer service levels.

SmartOps approaches supply chain optimization through a phased delivery of solutions that improve inventory planning, replenishment, and demand forecasting:

• Determine optimal inventory targets for all retail products.

This initial, critical step lets retailers determine how much they SHOULD be carrying of each item to meet desired service targets on that item.  SmartOps Multistage Inventory Planning & Optimization (MIPO™) software lets retailers:

• Dynamically optimize target inventory positions at the item/SKU level, as opposed to the category/vendor level
• Manage total chain (factories/vendors/VMI targets, DCs, warehouses, stores) safety stock and other reasons that inventory might be needed, such as cycle stock, in-transit stock, and merchandising stock

• Improve order fulfillment and customer service levels

• Improve demand forecasting to handle retail and distribution complexities.

SmartOps recognizes that many companies face unique challenges in demand forecasting, which is why the SmartOps Adaptive Structural Forecasting™ (ASF) solution was designed to specifically account for:

• Promotions, seasonality, events, and trends
• Item level data with the ability to aggregate appropriately
• The need to minimize overstocks while maximizing service levels
• The need to reduce manual effort

• Reduce net landed costs and improve replenishment decisions

SmartOps has developed a unique solution for Supply Planning & Optimization (SPO) that integrates with other SmartOps solutions, seamlessly optimizing supply decisions to:

• Reduce net landed cost. This solution coordinates silo costs and disparate planning decisions (warehousing, transportation, purchasing, and administration/finance), determines optimal order quantities and frequencies at the joint replenishment level, and allows for analysis of multiple source-/destination-/delivery-type combinations.
• Recommend optimal order quantities and timing. SmartOps Supply Planning & Optimization (SPO) solution recommends ordering quantities and timing to achieve lowest cost of supply by timing orders around deals from suppliers, cost changes, and quantity discounts.

Example questions SmartOps can answer:

• "What are the optimal inventory levels by product and component over time?"
• "How can I factor capacity constraints into my inventory optimization plans?"
• "What are the drivers of inventory for any individual product?"
• "What is my optimal reorder point?"
• "What are the impacts if we improve lead times, forecasting, customer wait times, or service levels?"
• "How do my plans change if there is a disruption in the supply network?"
• "Are our demand forecasting efforts helping our companies set accurate inventory targets?"

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