Rockville, MD August 2, 2002 Airgas Inc., a U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding, safety, and related products, has selected Manugistics Group's NetWORKS Demand and Manugistics NetWORKS Fulfillment solutions.
Airgas said it is going to use the Manugistics solutions for inventory planning, distribution and allocation. The solutions are designed to work in conjunction with the existing systems and, according to Manugistics, will enable Airgas to create more accurate forecasts down to the stock-keeping-unit (SKU) level, taking into account factors such as seasonality, new product introductions and promotions, geography, and other key data. The solutions will also be used for inventory management throughout Airgas' distribution network.
Airgas said this is the latest in a series of steps at the company to create a fully-integrated supply chain that enhances customer service levels while taking costs out of operations.
"At Airgas, we've spent the last five years standardizing items, data, software systems and building strategically-located distribution centers to create a centralized infrastructure for our supply chain," said Michael Molinini, senior vice president of hardgoods at Airgas. "Manugistics supply and inventory management solutions complement that strategy well and will help ensure that we continue to exceed the expectations of our more than one million customers by providing the right product to the right location at the time promised."
Airgas distributes more than $750 million annually of welding equipment, consumable supplies, related maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) supplies and safety products through a distribution network that includes more than 500 retail stores throughout the United States. It has established five regional distribution centers to help manage the inventory in the stores and to handle direct shipment to customers of goods purchased through telesales and e-business channels.
