RELEX can bring that information together, connecting the data points to illuminate the end-to-end supply chain. “Users suddenly have visibility into things that they did not know before,” Durbha says. REDUCE INVENTORY, BOOST ACCURACY The implementation of the RELEX platform kicked off in May 2022. SBS’s primary goals were to reduce inventory levels, boost forecast accuracy, and automate processes. Within SBS, two planners allocated about 40% of their time to the implementation, while an IT employee was dedicated about 80% to the project. One critical activity was understanding the data needed by the planning system and then pulling it from the ERP system. That required a fair amount of work and an iterative approach to get it right. For example, while orders from some countries in Asia ship once per week, orders from China are consolidated and typically ship once per month, Larsson says. SBS needed to include the varying shipment dates within the RELEX platform. Similarly, supplier lead times also varied, often depending on the region of the world from which they were coming. Initially, SBS didn’t have these data points in anything other than disparate work documents, Larsson says. He and his team exported this data into the RELEX platform. Given employees’ other responsibilities, and to avoid excessive risk, SBS launched the RELEX solution with just one customer. When that proved successful, it added two others, whose business models contain different types of complexity. By December 2022, SBS’s rst three customers, representing about 40% of the company’s business, were live. SBS has since moved about 75% of its customer base, by revenue, to the RELEX platform. Many customers who aren’t yet on the system are smaller, and it may not be worth the work required to add them to the solution, Larsson says. As a result, it’s likely a small portion of SBS’s client base will remain outside the RELEX system.
By integrating advanced forecasting solutions with customer insights, SBS has dramatically improved demand prediction accuracy. This enables the company to optimize inventory strategies, ensuring it meets real market needs with precision.
At the outset, the RELEX team spent time on site with SBS, gathering requirements and gaining an understanding of the company’s business processes today and into the future, Madhav says. After that, much of the implementation work happened remotely. Implementation time for many projects similar to the SBS project takes about six months. The RELEX solution supports SBS’s planning requirements across all its locations. About 60% of SBS’s customers use the RELEX platform to submit distribution, purchase, and production orders. Since implementing the solution, SBS has signi cantly improved its supply chain management, Larsson says. Among other changes, it has been able to place planning operations closer to key markets, such as Mexico and Taiwan. “The implementation of RELEX has been a game-changer. It’s not just about the technology; it’s about how it has transformed our approach to supply chain management. The ability to dynamically adjust inventory and forecasting in real time has set a new standard for operational excellence within our organization.” –Matt Larsson, VP of Supply Chain Operations, SBS
Integrating RELEX with SBS’s existing ERP systems facilitates the management of purchase, distribution, and production orders. “We freed up almost one day per week per planner from data entry,” Larsson says. Now, if the RELEX platform provides a purchasing or distribution recommendation, the information feeds directly into the ERP system, and the planner no longer has to manually enter it. Planners can complete more frequent updates to SBS’s supply chain plans, boosting their ability to quickly respond to market changes. Because the RELEX solution provides more timely notices of any shipment shortages, SBS has been able to cut its use of expedited shipping. “If you have one month to come up with an alternate plan, then it’s very doable,” Larsson says. “If you have to gure out an issue in two days, then it’s usually very expensive to x it.”
INFORMED DECISIONS By providing inventory and revenue projections by customer and location, RELEX helps SBS make informed budgeting and planning decisions. Through more accurate supply and demand planning, SBS has been able to cut inventory by about 29%. “The RELEX solution has been a critical change for us from a working capital standpoint,” Larsson says.
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