WHSaffer improves stock flow by 9% with 5% inventory reduction

Plumbing and sanitary wholesaler, WHSaffer (WHS), and hardware, security and DIY distributor WHDSA, subsidiaries of JSE-listed Dawn Holdings, have reduced their inventory holdings by five percent and shown a 9% improvement in sales within six weeks of implementing Ability`s VizAbility inventory optimisation software. Ability is a subsidiary company of Ixchange.

"WHS & WHD are renowned for having between 4500 and 5000 local and imported line items in stock at any one time, available at wholesale prices. Our strategic aim is to continuously strive toward improving service levels and growing market share. With international suppliers, WHS needed a powerful solution to simultaneously manage the range of products and the service levels to clients situated as far apart as Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique and Namibia," says Dave Ferguson, financial director of WHSaffer.

Realizing that one of its largest capital investments is inventory holding, WHS set out to find an innovative solution to optimise this investment, whilst simultaneously enhancing their image and customer service levels. As part of the company`s inventory project, their distribution network was integrated to provide customers with a "One Stop Shop" facility for both plumbing and hardware supplies.

"Critical components of the VizAbility solution were the accurate and timeous handling of inter-branch transfers and the elimination of the cause of lost of sales, or restriction of throughput, due to insufficient stock availability," adds Ferguson.

The VizAbility implementation was launched in Kwazulu Natal where the majority of hardware products are imported and then distributed across the country. The other nine branches followed this implementation managed via a centralized server situated in Gauteng.

"Although mostly non-centralized buying occurs in the companies, inventory optimisation has to be approached and managed from a national perspective," says Walter Leicher, general manager of VizAbility Inventory Optimisation Solutions. "Each branch has been addressed individually to ensure a consolidated view and focus. Additional aspects that were included in the implementation were the formation of a central warehousing distribution system, supplier (international and local) delivery constraints, and resource planning for in-house packaging and multi-supplier alignment."

In addition to the identification of the key elements in WHS`s product range, other areas addressed were the over-reaction to price changes, the improved consolidation of national branches` stock distribution and procurement, and the reactive approach to customer demand due to a wide range of products, unnecessary long lead times and uneven distribution of product flow.

The implementation of VizAbility has seen an overall inventory reduction of 5 percent after six weeks of involvement at the Kwazulu Natal site with management indicating has been a noticeable improvement in stock availability.