Toolmaker knocks sales data into shape
Sales predictions drives manufacturing and supply
Power tools manufacturer Black & Decker is to install software to improve sales predictions and prevent stock shortages and over-supply.
The company relies on sales-and-demand forecasting to dictate the manufacture and supply of its products, but at the moment it has separate systems covering different departments.
‘This leads to high forecast errors, low accuracy and overstocking of some products,’ said Wilfred Eijpen, Black & Decker supply chain systems manager.
The company is to implement collaboration, market manager and monitoring software from JDA Software division Manugistics to provide a single view of all forecasting data.
‘It will help us to determine how much we should sell during promotions and events, as well as providing more visibility across the whole supply chain,’ said Eijpen.
A three-month pilot of the software in Black & Decker’s UK consumer business improved accuracy by 16 per cent and reduced excess stock by 10 per cent.
Rollout of the software will begin in February.
Butler Group analyst Mark Blowers says successfully predicting sales and demand to optimise stock levels is the holy grail for retailers. ‘Collaboration will ensure all departments have the same information and the latest data,’ he said.
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