Logistics & Distribution

Capitalizing on the Capability of "Produce To Availability"

Trying to forecast consumer demand is a disturbing sacred cow. Over the past 30 years, the incredible investment and sophistication in forecasting systems by consumer gurus have not materialized. At the SKU level, consumer behavior is still very erratic. The result is very predictable - shortages of fast runners and surpluses of slow movers. Direct imports of lower cost products from Far East intensifies the problem as prolonging the lead time causes more challenges to match supply with the demand.

Set2-Combined


Winnington Inventory Turns (WIT) Program

Building upon the capability of "produce to availability", Winnington developed new ways of flowing goods through the supply chain called "Winnington Inventory Turns" (WIT). When most of our customers' cash is tied up in inventory and product availability is still an issue, improving customers' inventory turns is the source of cash flow and bottom line.


Frequent & Rapid Replenishment According to Actual Consumption

Under WIT, we simply replenished what was consumed by our customers, while dynamically and automatically adjusting inventory targets up or down according to trends.


Significant Lead Time Reduction

For our overseas customers, the total replenishment lead time is reduced dramatically under this model:

.Order Lead Time: Customers do not need to batch the order placement to meet minimum order quantities or
    are not pushed to place big quantities which they are not sure of the actual demand. Instead, customers just
    need to provide actual consumption data of the SKU that we supply and they can receive frequent and rapid
    replenishments and enjoy greater sales and inventory turns.

  • .Production Lead Time: Instead of waiting for several weeks or even months for production, under WIT model
        Winnington maintains a central buffer of finished goods stock ready to replenish every SKU that we supply. 
        Production lead time  under WIT is now ZERO.

With the significant reduction of the total replenishment lead time (combined effects of order lead time and production lead time reduction), inventory requirements of our customers drop dramatically. Not only the level but also the inventory mix is now significantly improved as replenishment is matched with the actual and not forecasted demand.


Planting the Seeds for Cash Flow, Top Line & Bottom Line

WIT moves the supply chain from "Push" to "Pull" and flowing goods at twice the speed compared with traditional and prevailing practices. This new model of collaboration gives the following competitive edge to our customers:

.Significant improvement of in-stock position (usually over 98% service level)
.Drastic reduction in inventory investment (at least 30%)
.Cut down the replenishment lead time to only the transportation lead time. No more run-out of fast movers and
    greatly speed up the product placement cycle
.Better inventory mix means much less obsolescence. Less markdown dollars and provisions for slow-moving stocks

What seems to be common sense is not common practice. You are invited to run this new journey in the houseware business on this new collaboration and reward from increased profitability, sales and cash velocity.

Contact our business team for WIT implementation results and case studies.