Segmentation
ABC/XYZ and differentiation by demand behaviour and criticality.
Case · Inventory & working capital
Reducing stock coverage without making service the balancing variable.
A multi-plant network with long lead times, heterogeneous policies and thousands of references required a structural approach to inventory and obsolescence risk.
Context
Inventory could not be addressed through a linear reduction target. Demand behaviour, variability, criticality, lead time, lot size, coverage and redistribution options had to be separated to avoid shifting the problem into service.
Responsibility
- Define and govern inventory policies within the global Supply Chain operating model.
- Connect stock decisions with planning, MRP, purchasing, capacity, logistics and service.
- Build analytical visibility to identify risk, excess and redistribution opportunities.
Decisions & execution
Safety stock
Coverage and buffer logic adjusted to risk rather than a single policy.
MOQ & MRP
Review of rules that structurally generated inventory through lot sizes or planning parameters.
Redistribution
Global mechanisms to use available stock before creating new demand.
Risk & obsolescence
Better visibility of slow-moving references and future exposure.
Results
>20%Conservative public reduction in stock coverage.
~175 → ~135 daysApproximate coverage evolution while the business grew.
Coverage fell while the business expanded; this is not presented as an equivalent percentage reduction in absolute inventory value.