SAP reporting, improving an international beverage business's supply chain.
We delivered optimised supply chain management and unlocked efficiencies with Excel-based SAP reporting.
The brief
One of the world’s leading soft drinks manufacturers urgently needed to increase the number of delivery vehicles it could process while ensuring optimal stock distribution between automated and traditional systems.
The client required a tool to process data exports from their SAP system, allocate orders for dispatch from each warehouse, and specify stock movements to facilitate dispatch.
Stock distribution optimisation
We developed an optimisation algorithm with a university-based computer scientist, then replicated it using VBA in Excel to complement the client's existing SAP software.
Logistical efficiency
The tool enabled the client to maximise order fulfilment between different warehouses while minimising stock movements and reducing wastage.
Rapid turnaround
The client had estimated it would take around 18 months to make the necessary changes in SAP. We delivered a solution that could operate using SAP exports in Excel within just a few weeks.
The result
Our client was delighted with the automated SAP export analysis our tool provided, which enabled them to increase the maximum vehicle throughput from their warehouses from 180 to 250.
It also allowed them to optimise staffing levels at their conventional warehouse and ensure that the automated warehouse operated at maximum efficiency.
They saw wastage reduced as more efficient identification of BBE dates and batch numbers ensured that older stock was always shipped first.
By deploying the solution using Excel, development was completed in a fraction of the time that it would have taken using traditional SAP methods.
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