Introduction
aberon F-DRP is a solid, powerful system for Sales Forecast and Stock Replenishment of the central warehouse.
It is designed to be simple to use and operationally efficient, and able to adapt to any type of business or operational environment. In just three steps, the user is able to predict future sales, plan stocks and purchases, and issue purchase order forms.
aberon F-DRP can address the needs of any business, regardless of the type of goods or planning requirements. It offers the user the ability to manage purchases more efficiently, and identify potential issues, so it can avoid both excessive stock and shortages in order management.
Basic Functions
- Sales Forecast
Forecasting the future sales of the company items constitutes the foundation of correct inventory planning and control.
By using statistical forecasting algorithms. which adapt automatically to the seasonal behavioural patterns and trends of the company items (self-adaptive forecasting methods), aberon F-DRP analyses the past time series of each item's sales and chooses the best forecast method for each item separately, without requiring any intervention or parameter adjustment by the user.
The forecast algorithm calculates the seasonality pattern and the trend of sales and removes any “noise” existing in the data that is due to circumstantial factors. It also compares the item's seasonality with the seasonality of the statistical group which the item belongs to and performs the necessary corrections. The result of this process is the forecast of sales for the subsequent time periods, such as, e.g., during the next 28 days, the next 24 weeks, or the next 12 months.
The following relevant functions are integrated into the forecast process:
- Transfer of historical data to aberon F-DRP
Past sales are transferred automatically in aberon F-DRP from the ERP system via an appropriate interface.
- Historical Data Adjustment
Adjustment of the historical data is an optional process that provides the user with the capability to intervene and correct historical sales that are due to circumstantial situations or intense marketing activities.
- Adjustment of Forecast Results
The system enables the user to adjust the sales optional forecast according to additional information coming from the market or based on the potential promotion actions planned by the company's marketing department.
- Prorating Process
Prorating is a user transparent process and is executed automatically by aberon F-DRP. This function automatically converts item sales (quantity) from forecasting time unit (e.g. month) into inventory planning time unit (e.g. week), which follows as process.
- Inventory Planning
The procedures of Inventory Planning and Purchase Orders Creation is based on the model of "Time Phased Planning", which has been implemented in MRP and MRP II systems (Material Requirements and Manufacture Resource Planning) for manufacturing processes.
According to the multiple criteria item selection capability, the user can easily selects an item or a group of items and creates a replenishment plan. The user specifies the time span in which the system will execute the inventory planning and the system produces the replenishment proposal plan.
Without user intervention, aberon F-DRP automatically creates the Time Phased Table with the proposed purchase orders. The results are displayed in a spreadsheet- like table.
The Time Phased Planning Sheet enables a total view of stock quantities and proposed purchases in depth of time.
With the time phased planning sheet, the user can view information on each item and time period, such as: Expected demand in each period, expected deliveries, proposed orders to suppliers, proposed arrivals of orders from suppliers, quantity of projected stock, projected stock cover over time periods, safety stock per period, etc.
- Purchase Order Form
aberon F-DRP creates the Purchase Order Documents and forwards them to suppliers. It also marks the items that have to be ordered by an expediting procedure in order to avoid future shortages or stockout.
Other Functions
- Plan of Receipts
Based on the replenishment plan, the user may create the plan of receipts, accordingly to which the user can receive a global picture of the evolution of receipts in time.
- Whole Cargo Creation
One of the most impressive features of aberon F-DRP is that it enables the user to form whole order cargoes to the suppliers which results in decreased transportation costs. Whole cargoes may be whole trucks, containers, train cars, etc. Formation of whole cargoes is achieved by transferring item quantities from adjacent time periods or by increasing or decreasing the quantities formed by the stock planning scheme.
- Simulation and Sensitivity Analysis
aberon F- DRP presents to the user the future evolution of the available stock and the relevant volumes.
The user, based on the information provided by the system, can timely diagnose future problems such as inadequacy of the storage system, liquidity problems, etc. It can also assess the future workload in the warehouse, as well as calculate insurance costs, based on the amount of the expected projected stock in the future.
- Sales Budget Creation
aberon F-DRP provides the capacity to create a sales budget by transforming the sales forecasts into a budget.
- ABC Analysis
aberon F-DRP enables the user to perform an ABC analysis for all SKUs or a group of SKUs as well as for a specific time period. The analysis may be based on money or quantities, by selecting the measurement unit that the user desires, such as piece, carton, pallet, etc.
- Item Abrogation – Replacement
aberon F-DRP enables the user to abrogate an item and to create a new item, that automatically inherits the historical pattern of the abrogated SKU, so that it is able to forecast sales.
Benefits
- Benefits at a glance
• Rational use of inventory assets
• Improved customer service and customer order execution (less stock outs)
• Reduction in required storage space
• Process unification for all company departments
• Reduced transportation costs through whole cargo capability
• Reduction in losses due to product devaluation
• Reduced workload in the planning and purchase department
• Reduced workload at the warehouse
• Eventually reduce delivery times through collaboration with vendors
• Revealing of potential problematic situations in advance
• Improved cooperation among company departments
(sales, marketing, buyers, planners, warehouse) via use of common data
• Capacity to investigate extreme circumstance scenarios (what-if-analysis)
• Improved planning and supply management