Samson (Novo Forecast Enterprise)

2022: Implementation of Novo Forecast Enterprise

The group of companies Samson"" is the largest federal operator in the market of goods for the office and school. It conducts a multi-channel business: wholesale, retail, dealers and a corporate distribution channel. Each of them has its own characteristics, grows at different periods of time, at different speeds. Turnover and inventory are increasing. For such companies, balanced growth is very important, when there is an optimal ratio of turnover, inventory and service level.

One of the advantages of the company is a wide range of products (more than 35-thousand SKUs). Suppliers are more than 1,300 manufacturing facilities and trading companies across the country and abroad. Therefore, it was very important to make the process as transparent as possible. So that each of the employees working with the supply chain knows: what is in the assortment, how is ordered, by what criteria is selected. Prior to that, they used their own handwritten algorithms, but the main emphasis was focused on regional warehouses. The company considered and realized that at the current rate of development, the existing methods of work correctly take into account all the data, which means that an automated system is needed.

Within the company, they compiled a list of characteristics that such a system should have and began to study offers on the market. The priority was the ability to automatically track patterns and relationships throughout the supply chain - from the manufacturer to the end user, which are very difficult for a person to notice. It is necessary that the program processes the entire data array and offers the most suitable options for further action. Taking into account the necessary characteristics, we settled on a program that allows you to implement integrated planning and optimize the supply chain. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are at the heart. So, based on the data obtained, it became clear that it is necessary to optimize the inventory structure by warehouses. The main goal was to improve the level of service for customers. To do this, it was necessary to solve several problems: accelerating turnover, changing the structure of the inventory, increasing the availability of goods and, as a result, increasing sales.

After implementation, you can quickly get up-to-date data. Previously, every day several indicators were manually compared, they made sure that the volume of goods was enough until the next delivery according to the average annual fact. If the goods were enough, then everything is fine, and it is; if not enough, then there is no product, urgent measures need to be taken. Now the system is responsible for this. Employees know that about 80% of the assortment is available. This is an average of each warehouse, store, store, and item. The next step is to increase the figure by 5-10%, which means to further increase the level of client service. So that the consumer has the choice and the opportunity to find the desired, and the amount of available assortment is close to 100%.

The specificity of the company operating in the office and school products market is seasonality. Preparations for one event begin about a year before it. For example, orders for the new 2024 academic year were formed in September-October 2023. Calculating the exact number of goods is not easy because of many components. In this case, forecasting comes to the rescue, which allows you to determine the quantity of products for the order. This is necessary in order to have time to produce and deliver goods on time at a favorable price. The choice of seasonal positions is complicated by the large rotation of the assortment due to new products that are difficult to plan. Some categories of the assortment depend solely on seasonal demand, others are tied to promotional activities, and others are taken regardless of external factors. All this is important to consider in order to make a profit and avoid Out of stock or frozen assets.

Implementation results

• The process of planning and forecasting demand has become as clear and transparent as possible for all participants.
• Increase the level of client service.
• Online update of data in automatic mode.
• The system ensures that the product is sufficient at each point.
• Increase in turnover percentage.
• The ability to plan despite the large rotation of the assortment.

The project was implemented in partnership with Softline