Supply Chain and Inventory Improvement

TriVista dramatically improved customer service by implementing a robust Sales, Inventory, and Operations Planning (SIOP) Process that decreased stock-outs by 50% without additional inventory.

The Challenge

TriVista’s client was facing increasing backorders and rapidly declining customer satisfaction. Our team was tasked with developing an improved supplier and inventory management system which would eliminate stock outs and ensure the company had the correct inventory on hand to meet customer demands.

Our Approach

The TriVista team was asked to work with the company’s US based procurement and inventory management staff to address the backorder situation and in parallel conduct onsite capability assessments of the company’s key vendors in China to determine capacity and develop a more effective and efficient communication system. Our team utilized an in-depth diagnostic approach to evaluate the client’s supply chain and internal inventory management and purchasing operations.
This diagnostic process focused on the following key areas:

• Sales Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP)
• Inventory Management
• Warehousing and Distribution
• Logistics
• Procurement
• Product Development
• Organizational Structure
• Operational Performance
• Forecasting & Seasonality
• Supplier Performance & Capacity

Utilizing advanced data analysis tools, TriVista quickly identified the critical issues impacting the supply chain and driving customer satisfaction. Rapid sales growth over the prior four years had generated a significant increase in business complexity that stretched the existing business processes beyond their capability. This resulted in miscommunication and poor forecast accuracy.

To address these issues, TriVista developed, implemented, and trained staff to use a new data driven inventory process based on a variety of factors, including sales history and variability by SKU, order frequency, and lead time. This new inventory policy was developed utilizing feedback from both the company and its suppliers in China – providing the company with a truly dynamic process that was understood and embraced by all associated parties.