No Need for Star Trek Technology

Fenner Advanced Sealing Technologies have proved that simple number crunching and good analysis can result in a consistent 95% OTIF service. With the help of The Consultancy Company they improved customer service without recourse to expensive new IT.

You don’t need a new IT system to improve service levels and product availability. New improvements at Fenner Advanced Sealing Technologies (FAST) this year, have proved that simple number crunching and good analysis can result in a consistent 95% OTIF. ‘In order to deliver our strategy of excellence through customer service we identified that a key component was the ability to deliver to customer requirement and as such “On Time In Full” was a key metric. We needed a tool that would help the individual companies optimise their inventory configuration to achieve greater than 95% OTIF,’ explains David Jones, Divisional Managing Director of FAST. ‘We knew that the division had the capability to achieve this but lacked some of the operational tools.’ As a result, the company went through a process of comparing data from each of their in-country IT systems against an optimised solution, and found that they could increase OTIF to 95% without a significant increase in stock. “A key requirement in the selection process was to avoid changing our business IT systems. Whatever system we chose had to be simple, easy to administer and work with the existing systems in each business; which were all very different.” With the help of The Consultancy Company, FAST developed a routine process to identify the most recent trends and demands, which were used, in conjunction with the agreed customer service requirements, to determine the optimal stocking parameters. Once complete, the results were uploaded into all the in-country IT systems for the standard replenishment processes to use. An effective solution that has resulted in rapid improvements of OTIF and reduced risks of stock obsolescence. Richard Wale, an inventory specialist with The Consultancy Company sums up: “An ERP or packaged inventory system can only take you so far. What our tools and techniques do is to work with these systems to identify and manage the inevitable elements of uncertainly that are unique to each business, which means you are prepared for anything.”

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The Consultancy Company is a highly focused provider of supply chain, health, and public sector consultancy services. We work in partnership with major private, public and third sector organisations in the UK and internationally.