Schäferbarthold increases efficiency in inventory management

The procurement of original parts, which account for around half of Schäferbarthold's business, is a challenging task. Quotations have to be evaluated within a very short time, while long delivery times and uncertain sources of supply make planning difficult. “Back then, we relied on assumptions from the past to predict when which items would arrive and how we could use them optimally,” recalls Steffen Loetz, Organization & Processes and ADD*ONE Project Manager at Schäferbarthold. International sourcing requires additional intuition. Schäferbarthold works with up to 30 suppliers in other European countries for individual items in order to be able to offer prices in line with the market. “But it's not just about the lowest price, we also have to make sure that the quality is right and that the goods are delivered on time,” says Loetz. "In some cases, our colleagues were solely occupied with data maintenance, just to get a basic overview. Finding this balance and making well-founded decisions was a constant challenge."

After a comprehensive analysis, it quickly became clear that Schäferbarthold needed to raise its processes to a new level. A particular focus here was on improving forecasting. “Our previous, self-developed approaches in the ERP system helped us up to a certain point, but we knew that there was much more potential,” explains Loetz. The new software also needed to be able to mathematically determine the optimal order proposal and the right supplier based on sound data. The result should relieve employees of time-consuming data maintenance routines while remaining easy to understand. With these requirements in mind, the automotive wholesaler set out in search of a suitable system and found the answer in the AI-supported business software ADD*ONE from INFORM.