Latest demand planning technology from Logility to drive buying, inventory management and financial control
Atlanta — November 15, 2004 — Robert Horne Group, the United Kingdom's leading supplier of paper, board and plastics to the visual communications industry, said it has upgraded to Logility Voyager Solutions Version 7.0. Logility will provide additional demand planning functionality, including improved collaboration among internal departments and with suppliers, according to Robert Horne Group.
Robert Horne Group markets a wide range of paper, boards and plastic substrates. A typical customer order ranges from a few reams of copier paper to jumbo sheets of thermoplastic. The company's central distribution center, a 28,000 square meter facility that handles approximately 50,000 pallets, is located in Northampton, UK. Nine regional distribution centers are located across the UK, which in total store over 300,000 tons of stock per year.
According to Martin Stears, Group Purchasing director, Robert Horne Group, the corporate goad of this company is to maintain high levels of service in terms of stock, range, distribution, marketing and technical support. "Logility is helping us plan more effectively, operate more efficiently and ultimately meet our primary goal of increasing customer satisfaction," he explained. "The decision to upgrade to Logility Voyager Version 7.0 was a result of several factors, including meeting shifting business and industry needs; and capitalizing on some of the capabilities offered in the new release such as performance management, which provides business activity monitoring and proactive alerts to give us real-time insight into our supply chain. Overall, upgrading to Version 7.0 was a Board decision supporting the recommendations from the Purchasing and IT Departments."
Robert Horne Group initially selected Logility Voyager Demand Planning, Inventory Planning and Replenishment Planning. The demand management solution reconciles demand history, orders and other information to produce comprehensive overviews of demand by item, location, customer and/or group; and helps determine the best balance between desired customer service levels and inventory requirements.
The initial system paid for itself in less than three months, delivering an immediate 15 percent reduction in stock costs, and a current total 30 percent reduction in stock costs, the Robert Horne Group said.
The company also uses Voyager Solutions to enable a team-based approach to forecasting — one that incorporates marketing, logistics and inventory management — to deliver improved service and product availability at a reduced supply chain cost.
