Forecasting customer demand is an important and necessary part of the chain of calculations needed to optimize inventory stocking levels. There are a wide variety of techniques that can be used, making forecasting a confusing and sometimes difficult process. If your goal is to not only forecast demand but also stock inventory at optimal levels, then forecasting must be combined with inventory planning and replenishment optimization algorithms to reach the goals of higher service levels with less inventory.
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Tags: advanced inventory planning solutions, Demand Planning, forecasting software,, optimized inventory planning
There are some distinctions of business purchases, strategic and non-strategic. Strategic purchases are those that have a direct effect on the business and the bottom line. Non-strategic are those for everyday items like office supplies, travel, commodity items, etc. In the case of manufacturing companies, strategic purchases can be raw materials, production equipment, energy, skilled labor, computers, and business operating software.
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Tags: advanced inventory planning solutions, cloud computing, Demand Planning, forecasting, optimized inventory planning
Your mission to be the best supplier of your products in the market today and tomorrow is more challenging than ever. Most companies define what that means in terms of serving the customer. For example, your customers can send you an order and get a return confirmation promptly. You will ship all orders within 24 hours. You will offer a variety of products that is both broad and deep. All great goals to build and grow a business. Now, you go out and spend a ton of money on the inventory.
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Changes are occurring at lightning speed for all of us today. Consumers and companies alike have to contend with minute-by-minute information and change. The Cloud – Advanced Inventory Planning – Omnichannel – Social Media and much more impact today’s businesses. The options dazzle the mind, do we stay the course or change a little or change a lot.
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Tags: Inventory Planning, in the Cloud, advanced inventory planning solutions, cloud computing, web based inventory planning
Here are some of our customers talking about the increased inventory performance and control they have with VALOGIX Inventory Planner.
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The vast majority of companies that maintain an inventory use spreadsheets and reports. Some companies have had their overburdened IT departments build them a custom solution. In the scheme of things, these choices may work for a time but after a while they become a barrier to successful inventory planning. So, do you stay with the manual burdensome current process or move to a better way to plan?
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Tags: web based inventory software, advanced inventory planning solutions, forecasting, inventory management
There are a lot of inventory planning solutions available from all types of companies around the world. Many are designed for large enterprise companies as they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and are highly complex. Some so complex a math or science degree is required just to operate the system. Others at the low end may be just point solutions for just forecasting, as an example, or offer individual modules you need to buy separately.
Most of these solutions include a forecasting capability either their own or from an included third-party provider. They usually also offer min and max levels, safety stock and replenishment calculations. Most require you to manually set replenishment levels and have you select the appropriate forecast method.
But how many offer real inventory optimization and why is this important? There are many reasons why inventory optimization is critical for conducting business in today’s ever challenging economic climate.
First of all is the cost of carrying, holding and managing an inventory. The costs for most items are steadily increasing, real estate costs and taxes are up and shipping costs are through the roof. Inventory optimization provides a great balanced inventory to meet expected demand, while reducing costs and better controlling spend for additional stock purchases. Planning in a timelier manner reduces the need for expediting orders in from vendors, which in-turn reduces the need for expediting shipments to customers.
Secondly, optimization dramatically improves the financial performance of an inventory because buying and stocking are more in-line with expected customer demand. It helps to reduce and almost eliminate the future build-up of excess inventory and dead stock.
Third, there are too many known and unknown variables that can affect your inventory and subsequent customer service levels to manage properly. Just forecasting and planning your inventory leaves you wide-open to problems in meeting both your financial goals and customer expectations. Trying to plan with spreadsheets is even a worse situation that will eventually lead you to higher costs and lower service producing a higher level of customer dissatisfaction and lost business.
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Tags: Inventory Planning, inventory optimization, advanced inventory planning solutions, Inventory Planning Solutions
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Tags: advanced inventory planning solutions, inventory turns, Valogix
Discover an affordable, seamlessly integrated inventory planning optimization solution to SAP Business One for small and midsize businesses. A solution that frees up your resources (including cash), reduces losses from obsolescence, and increases service levels. The tools you need to forecast, plan, and optimize inventory, manage your business more efficiently and meet the demands of customers and suppliers are powerful and affordable.
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Tags: Inventory Planning, SAP, SAP Business One, inventory optimization, Forecasting Inventory, advanced inventory planning solutions, cloud computing, Demand Planning, replenishment planning, Wholesale Distribution, Supply Chain, Partner Awards, Valogix, inventory management
Happy New Year! 2012 brings the promise of improving global economies. Balancing short term resilience with longer term needs is what is needed now. Reducing costs, buying less, increasing productivity, improving cash flow is important, and to keep these inventory objectives balanced and in perspective you need an efficient way to optimize these important business demands. Improve your competitive advantages responsibly and efficiently with inventory planning optimization solutions. Waiting until its too late in your ordering cycles will invite your customers to investigate other opportunities, and that can happen by making the reduction of the wrong item at the wrong time.
If your company tends to reduce items with the highest investment because it creates a larger reduction faster, what it actually does is creates potential stock outs, higher backorders and increased expedited shipping – and, even more importantly, customer dis-satisfaction. We all know that when customers are unhappy they become former customers. Randomly cutting inventory has been proven time and time again to be the wrong strategy as does overstocking your inventory.
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Tags: Inventory Planning, SAP Business One, cloud, inventory optimization, SaaS, Forecasting Inventory, advanced inventory planning solutions, replenishment planning, IBM, Wholesale Distribution, Supply Chain, manufacturing
Investing in smart solutions that improve your inventory planning is an important business decision and necessary in today’s global and troubled economy. Sometimes the concept of spending money to save money is very hard to accept. There are no guarantees the investment will pay off, so there is some level of risk involved. But, is it any riskier to do nothing? To maintain the status quo?
There are many reasons or excuses for not upgrading to a modern, easy to use advanced inventory tool.
Which Category do you fall in?
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Is your company taking advantage of the tax legislation signed into law last December? If you're not, you're not alone.
Combining these tax incentives with business and inventory optimization systems, companies are provided a rare and short-lived opportunity to boost after-tax profits while reinvesting and growing their businesses. These incentives expire at the end of this year, so don't wait any longer!
On Thursday, June 30 at 2:00pm EST, join experts from KPMG, Aberdeen Group, Valogix and EntryPoint Consulting as they discuss how to use these current tax incentives to boost your bottom line.
The expert panel includes:
Nick Canitano, Managing Director - Tax Services at KPMG:
How to use the tax, accelerated depreciation and other business benefits of the legislation to your advantage.
Rich Vaccaro, President & CEO at Valogix:
How inventory planning and optimization can produce up to a 20% reduction in inventory to free up capital.
Kevin Prouty, Research Director - Enterprise Applications at Aberdeen Group:
Hard-hitting analysis on the performance of Best-in-Class technology adopters vs. industry average and laggards including recommended actions.
Pete Martin, President & CEO at EntryPoint Consulting:
Pulling it all together by illustrating how business incentives, combined with inventory/supply chain optimization and investments in new business systems in 2011, can produce an after-tax positive cash flow.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn how investing in your business can actually produce a near-term, after-tax positive cash flow. Don't believe it? Attend this free webinar and we will prove it to you. You've got nothing to lose! Space is limited so register today.
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Tags: advanced inventory planning solutions, EntryPoint Consulting, KPMG, Aberdeen Research, Valogix