January 2010

Inventory management software developer Slimstock is on target for 78% growth this year as UK companies reap the benefits of an advanced supply chain planning and optimisation tool that guarantees virtually instant financial returns.

Exceeding even its own ambitious forecasts, the Coventry-based company is growing twice as fast as sister companies in the rest of Europe with latest gains dramatically demonstrating the escalating importance of inventory optimisation and configuration tools as the surest route to survival.

Notching-up more than 40 new deals in under nine months, companies including Flowtech, Hobbycraft, Technetix, Wilsonart International and BMI Healthcare have been added to the growing portfolio of UK-based clients alongside the parent group’s expanding customer base that additionally lists Eurodisney, CFM Wolseley, Watts Industries, Intertruck and 400-pharmacy outlet Mediq as key gains this year.

Leading car parts distributors AD Ireland is another notable addition for the company as its first customer in Ireland – viewed as a major growth area and pegged for further expansion, particularly in the medical and pharmaceuticals arena.

Central to Slimstock’s phenomenal success is advanced inventory optimisation tool Slim4 – a features-packed program that, according to its developers, has the potential to revolutionise the way companies analyse and plan inventory control.

Already ranked as the leading European solution for forecasting, demand planning, inventory control and purchase support, Slim4 has a track record of delivering often dramatic reductions in inventory levels and investment – typically, between 25 and 30% – allied to measurable improvements in service levels.

Additionally, Slimstock’s all-out confidence in the tool’s advanced features is such that it’s offered with guarantees of financial returns. Significantly, the company claims never to have had to refund any client’s outlay in more than 400 applications spanning 10 years.

Taking historical sales, required service levels, minimum order quantities and lead times as the start-point, Slim4 calculates safety stock levels and ‘up to order’ levels in a 12-month purchase schedule. By establishing demand patterns, the tool automatically delivers the best ordering method, resulting in faster turnaround time and improvements often measurable within weeks of commissioning.

Last month also saw the release of the tool’s latest version v4:3 offering notably ramped-up speed, toolbox extensions and order generator feature.

According to MD Tim Murphy, the past few years have seen effective inventory management become indispensible...

Effective supply chain planning and management is now more complex than it’s ever been ¬– yet at the same time has never been more central to success” he commented.

Adding that the volatile state of the world over the past two years has driven companies to take ‘a good, hard look at cost savings across the board’ he says that one of the chief areas where companies can show clearly-measurable benefits virtually instantly is the critical area of inventory optimisation: “....if nothing else, the recession has dramatically demonstrated the clear relationship between effective inventory planning and ultimate financial success, and that’s the major driver behind the gains we’ve achieved.

“It’s now universally accepted that the best route to survival is through supply chain reconfiguration and optimisation, and that’s the one constant that will remain over coming years” he forecast.

Slimstock’s results are also in-line with a recent report from global supply chain analysts AMR Research indicating that the highly-competitive supply chain management software sector is poised for several more years of sustained growth as the clear relationship between effective supply chain planning and profitability hits home.