Chainalytics recently worked with a personal care brand manufacturer to improve its demand forecasting and production planning processes which helped reduce rising backorders, restore customer service levels, and maintain growth.
A rapidly expanding consumer goods company recently found itself struggling to meet customer fill rates. Rising backorders and falling customer service levels threatened to diminish recently won shelf space with some of America’s top retailers. The organization experienced an enterprise-wide crisis which threatened the company’s continued success if service levels did not recover quickly.
The company originally sought the counsel of a lean manufacturing consultancy. Unfortunately, they incorrectly diagnosed the underlying root causes by focusing solely on manufacturing efficiency and never addressed demand forecasting, production planning, MRP, S&OP, warehousing, and order fulfillment. As inventory levels dropped dramatically, the organization enlisted the help of Chainalytics to right the ship before the situation resulted in a catastrophic setback to growth.
Chainalytics’ team immediately partnered with the brand’s supply chain leadership team to determine the true root causes of the crisis. Within one month, the Chainalytics team had successfully identified the underlying issues and quickly put a plan into action. First, they developed a realistic recovery and communication plan to return inventory levels and fill rates to desired levels. The team worked hand-in-hand with the brand’s procurement and production teams to ensure expedited availability of prioritized materials for key customers. Through a rapid-fire action plan, the team quickly restored service levels, preventing the loss of several national accounts.
Within two more months, an MRP tool had been implemented to drive procurement so that inventory levels could be further optimized. Using a variety of software solutions to build models for production, forecasting and inventory optimization allowed the team to successfully align raw material procurement with manufacturing operations and meet forecast demand with the most efficient inventory, despite ongoing volatility and new product launches.
In parallel, Chainalytics’ supply chain operations experts provided optimized recommendations to improve product flow within the facility. Chainalytics successfully solved warehouse congestion, expedited order fulfillment, implemented a smooth 3PL transition plan, and reduced daily operational deficiencies hindering the organization’s progress. Through a collaborative effort with the company’s supply chain leadership team, the partnership successfully raised service level fulfillment percentages from 70 percent to the mid-90s, all while overcoming additional challenges including labor shortages, weather shutdowns, vendor delays and more. The project proved so successful that Chainalytics continues to work closely with the manufacturer to ensure the organization’s continued growth.
