JSE-listed Ixchange has announced the availability of the latest version of its inventory optimisation package, VizAbility, part of the Ability business management solution suite.
VizAbility is Ixchange`s solution to the growing need for a strategic focus on inventory asset management. It takes the elements of the supply chain - forecasting, inventory policy, data gathering and supplier and customer management - and integrates them into one package.
The result is a system that will optimise inventories and add up to 20% to the bottom line. VizAbility lowers the investment in inventories and improves on customer service levels by reducing stock-outs without carrying surplus inventory, reducing operating costs and reducing the overall workload on managers to enable them to concentrate on more productive activities.
Enhancements to VizAbility version 4.1 serve to streamline the optimisation process more than before and include inventory modelling, forecasting, improved reporting and transaction system integration, as well as a neural network for calculating optimal stock levels.
The Inventory Modelling module weighs-up a business`s investment in inventory versus its service level targets. The application allows the company to select what level of service it wants to provide and calculates the stock investment necessary to maintain those levels. The company can then decide if the investment is too great and can then lower service level targets to generate a more acceptable stocking level.
According to Walter Leicher, general manager for VizAbility SA, the product uses multiple forecasting methodologies to achieve the best stock forecasts.
The enhanced functionality of VizAbility`s "best fit" modelling chooses from over 30 strategic statistical models and can automatically forecast demand, at line-item and stocking location level, or by aggregated logical product groupings. Forecasts can be calculated based on historic sales of other stock items, while historical stock anomalies like discounted sales can be excluded from the calculations. Historical demand events can also be annotated by the users and referred to later to assist in the ongoing forecasting.
Leicher also notes that VizAbility is supplied with an enhanced forecasting graphical interface that allows users to easily view and adjust any information graphically.
VizAbility 4.1 also includes a neural network component, which is a smart software object for calculating optimal stock levels. Leicher says, "the neural network measures and takes into consideration multiple factors like order frequency, supplier lead time, variability of supply, variability of forecast accuracy, order review frequency, and the required customer service requirements to automatically calculate the optimal stocking levels. Unlike other systems, VizAbility captures these in the background and works out orders for the company with the user only needing to enter the service level the business needs to maintain."
The new version of VizAbility ships with a standard set of reports that are most requested by the product`s customers, but the reporting module is highly customisable to enable users to create parameter-driven reports specific to their needs. The report data can easily be extracted to common formats such as Excel, or they can be emailed or converted to an electronic format.
"VizAbility integrates seamlessly with all client transaction systems, " comments Leicher. The integration is bi-directional in that VizAbility is able to update its database with the businesses` transactional processing, as well as uploading inventory management data and transactions back into the clients` system.
"The improved workflow advantages delivered by this integration are instrumental in reducing client internal lead times and order cycles," says Leicher. "Reductions of up to 80% in internal lead times are common, and managers can better spend their time concentrating on strategic direction rather than stock issues."
Ixchange has included a Task List with the product because it realises that not every issue can be tackled immediately. Users can prioritise highest value tasks and VizAbility`s Task List will graphically inform the user of a problem that needs to be addressed. "If, for example, there is a potential stock-out, excess inventory/orders to be expedited, or stock that needs to be replenished, the user is warned of the situation and can drill down into the system, to item level detail, and prioritise actions according to financial effect on the business," says Leicher.
VizAbility also contains a Supplier Management module, which provides automated assistance to users involved in supplier negotiations. "The module provides all the current analysis and information the user will need when dealing with partners," remarks Leicher.
Although aimed at the mid-market, VizAbility is designed to integrate the supply chains of businesses with multiple stocking locations, including automatic redistribution benefits and costs. Leicher says the biggest clients currently using VizAbility have in excess of 200 stock locations, over 1 million SKU (stock keeping units) and over 150 users. Version 4.1 has been built on SQL Server 7.0 and runs on Windows NT servers.
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