Case Study · Supply Chain
Distribution reset for a multi-market distributor
Too much cash in slow stock, and still out of the fast movers. We rebuilt planning and network policy so service and working capital improved together.
Sector
Distribution & logistics
Region
Three East African markets
Duration
Three-week diagnostic, 20-week delivery
Practice
Supply Chain · Operational Excellence
The challenge
High inventory and poor availability at the same time
Each market ordered independently, safety stock was a flat rule for every SKU, and the warehouse had no slotting logic. Working capital climbed while the top sellers went out of stock monthly.
- One blanket safety-stock rule applied across 2,000+ SKUs
- No shared forecast between sales, supply and finance
- Picking productivity limited by a layout built years earlier
- Cost-to-serve unknown at customer or lane level
The engagement
Diagnose → Design → Deliver
How the work unfolded, phase by phase.
Diagnose
Segment the portfolio honestly
We classified SKUs by volume, volatility and margin, mapped true lead times including port and customs, and modelled cost-to-serve by lane.
Design
Differentiated policy, one plan
Segment-specific replenishment and safety-stock rules, a monthly S&OP cycle across sales, supply and finance, and a re-slotted warehouse layout.
Deliver
Rolled out market by market
Implemented in the largest market first with the planning team, then replicated with local leads who had already been trained on the pilot.
Results
What moved
Availability
Service lifted on the highest-value SKUs
Cash released
Working capital freed from slow-moving stock
Faster picking
Warehouse re-slotted around real velocity
One plan
S&OP cycle running monthly across markets
“We stopped arguing about whose number was right and started making decisions in the room.”
After handover
Planning became a routine, not a rescue
The S&OP cycle is now chaired by the client's own supply chain lead. Exceptions are handled in the meeting instead of by escalation, and each market reports against the same numbers.
- Segment rules reviewed quarterly by the planning team
- Cost-to-serve model maintained in-house
- Supplier scorecards embedded in the monthly cycle
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