Improved stock management facilitates further growth of Afix Group
Afix Group makes, sells and rents scaffolding equipment. The Aalter-based company has branches in six countries, with customers across over 20 countries.
Afix Groupmakes, sells and rents scaffolding equipment. The Aalter-based company has branches in six countries, with customers across over 20 countries. As a growing European player in multiple niche sectors, Afix Group struggled with its stock management processes. Centralisation of stocks, guidelines regarding the fulfilment of forecasts, and a delayed customer order decoupling point helped solve the problem.
The scaffolding expert is active in the construction and events sector, the manufacturing industry and the area of infrastructure works. Its customers include companies such as TotalEnergies, Daewoo and Besix. The international structure and broad portfolio ensure a diverse scope of operations comprising varied customer needs and market requirements. However, excess stock levels in some places and shortages elsewhere undermined growth plans and customer service.
Complex exercise in stock control
The sale and hire of scaffolding equipment is a high-investment business. In the case of equipment hire, ensuring the timely availability is particularly crucial, and this costs money. Due to the size of the projects and the international context, the efficient management of stock is a complex exercise.
How do we organise the stock optimally? How do we get the right equipment to project sites quickly and efficiently? Is sufficient equipment available in each country to guarantee flexibility? For which locations and components do we need to produce additional stock? These questions prompted Afix Group to contact the supply chain expert valueXstream.
The scaffolding expert is active in the construction and events sector, the manufacturing industry and the area of infrastructure works. Its customers include companies such as TotalEnergies, Daewoo and Besix. The international structure and broad portfolio ensure a diverse scope of operations comprising varied customer needs and market requirements. However, excess stock levels in some places and shortages elsewhere undermined growth plans and customer service.
Complex exercise in stock control
The sale and hire of scaffolding equipment is a high-investment business. In the case of equipment hire, ensuring the timely availability is particularly crucial, and this costs money. Due to the size of the projects and the international context, the efficient management of stock is a complex exercise.
How do we organise the stock optimally? How do we get the right equipment to project sites quickly and efficiently? Is sufficient equipment available in each country to guarantee flexibility? For which locations and components do we need to produce additional stock? These questions prompted Afix Group to contact the supply chain expert valueXstream.
Thanks to its collaboration with valueXstream, Afix Group gained a better insight into stock management, optimised its production planning and adjusted the ERP software.
Three action points in the supply chain
Setting up a global organisation with centralised stock management was fundamentally important. Afix Group produces scaffolding in the Netherlands and Turkey. Headquartered in Belgium, the company also sells and hires equipment in markets like France, the Netherlands, England, Turkey and Morocco. Earlier, the countries managed their stocks separately from one another. By centralising the stock, it is now possible to see at all times what equipment is available where.
Each country proactively creates a safety stock based on an estimated forecast prepared by the sales department. However, these forecasts varied widely by region. While in some countries, sales tended to underestimate the projects, in others it overestimated the sales volumes.
valueXstream trained the organisations to arrive at more accurate estimates based on the rolling forecast principle. A rolling forecast is a flexible estimate which is regularly updated. It takes into account historical data and other parameters you set for your organisation, such as seasonal patterns. A rolling forecast offers insight into what is going on. Based on this, you can intervene faster and predict the future more accurately.
On the advice of valueXstream, the scaffolding manufacturer also delayed the customer order decoupling point. Based on the expected local demand, the branches submit their orders. Afix Group groups the orders and pushes them into production. By doing so, the company keeps production costs under control. Upon shipping, the adjusted real need per country is taken into account. In this way, Afix Group avoids overproduction and excessive central stock.
Three action points in the supply chain
Setting up a global organisation with centralised stock management was fundamentally important. Afix Group produces scaffolding in the Netherlands and Turkey. Headquartered in Belgium, the company also sells and hires equipment in markets like France, the Netherlands, England, Turkey and Morocco. Earlier, the countries managed their stocks separately from one another. By centralising the stock, it is now possible to see at all times what equipment is available where.
Each country proactively creates a safety stock based on an estimated forecast prepared by the sales department. However, these forecasts varied widely by region. While in some countries, sales tended to underestimate the projects, in others it overestimated the sales volumes.
valueXstream trained the organisations to arrive at more accurate estimates based on the rolling forecast principle. A rolling forecast is a flexible estimate which is regularly updated. It takes into account historical data and other parameters you set for your organisation, such as seasonal patterns. A rolling forecast offers insight into what is going on. Based on this, you can intervene faster and predict the future more accurately.
On the advice of valueXstream, the scaffolding manufacturer also delayed the customer order decoupling point. Based on the expected local demand, the branches submit their orders. Afix Group groups the orders and pushes them into production. By doing so, the company keeps production costs under control. Upon shipping, the adjusted real need per country is taken into account. In this way, Afix Group avoids overproduction and excessive central stock.
Greater efficiency and better service
Thanks to its collaboration with valueXstream, Afix Group gained a better insight into stock management, optimised its production planning and adjusted the ERP software. It managed to gain control over the stock costs. Improved stock management led to better service: Afix Group now delivers to customers faster and can respond better to the varying needs of diverse markets and projects. This gives it a competitive advantage. In addition, these innovations pave the way towards further expansion.
Greater efficiency and better service
Thanks to its collaboration with valueXstream, Afix Group gained a better insight into stock management, optimised its production planning and adjusted the ERP software. It managed to gain control over the stock costs. Improved stock management led to better service: Afix Group now delivers to customers faster and can respond better to the varying needs of diverse markets and projects. This gives it a competitive advantage. In addition, these innovations pave the way towards further expansion.
Improve your stock management with our supply chain expert valueXstream.
Contact Viktor Deswert viktor.deswert@valueXstream.eu