Implementation process
The implementation of AGR’s system was a phased process:
The importance of forecasting accuracy
Discover how accurate forecasting is key to effective inventory management, cost control, and business resilience.
The importance of forecasting accuracy
Discover how accurate forecasting is key to effective inventory management, cost control, and business resilience.
The importance of forecasting accuracy
Discover how accurate forecasting is key to effective inventory management, cost control, and business resilience.
The importance of forecasting accuracy
Discover how accurate forecasting is key to effective inventory management, cost control, and business resilience.
The importance of forecasting accuracy
Discover how accurate forecasting is key to effective inventory management, cost control, and business resilience.
The result
- More control over the flow of goods within the supply chain
- Increased service level and availability
- Less time spent on manual ordering processes
- Simplified move to new DC
“After a year of using AGR, our availability went from 86% to 98%, and our inventory had even decreased by 2-3%. Another key benefit of using the system is that it has reduced time spent on manual tasks by around 30% through automation”
- Space NK
- Alan Iles, Group Systems Manager, Space NK
Prior to implementing AGR, Space NK was struggling to gt their inventory availability figures to where they wanted them to be, even though they had a lot of capital tied up in stock. They set out looking for a solution that could help. AGR was introduced to Space NK by their NAV partner, and saw it as a big benefit that the software bolted straight on to the ERP system without any issues.
Space NK started implementing AGR at the end of 2007 and went live in 2008. Prior to implementation the AGR consultants had worked closely with the Space NK team to “That gave us the trust that they understood what we required and that they could deliver on our needs,” says Alan Iles, Group Systems Manager, Space NK.
Space NK had tailored their ERP system, NAV, to their specific business needs with several customisations, but by 2007 it had gotten to that stage where it was struggling to calculate replenishment figures each night.
“We knew we had issues when we started working with AGR. Our mission for the project was to improve availability within the business without increasing our spend inventory. After a year of using AGR, our availability went from 86% to 98%, and our inventory had even decreased by 2-3%. So, we were happy.”
Their team also saw a reduction in the hours spent on repetitive manual tasks. “We very roughly estimate around a 30% reduction. Where previously they were having to do manual ordering in Excel and inputting it back into NAV, after the implementation of AGR, all of that went away overnight.”
When asked what three words Alan would use to describe AGR he responded with: Simple yet complex. “One of the best things about AGR is that the user interface is simple. It presents to the user all the information they need to see. They can see it as a table with products and number codes or they can see a graphical view, which can illustrate what’s going on far better in many cases. But behind the scenes, it is amazing how much the software is actually doing. We’ve got around 70 stores with 8-9000 SKU’s and AGR is calculating forecasts every single week, calculating demand for the next 12 months weekly, it’s working out what the order quantity and safety stock needs to be, it’s looking at lost sales, and so much more. That is complex, but again the user just needs to see the simplified view.”
Alan would not hesitate to recommend AGR to other companies. “We’ve found it delivers for us exactly what we need. It doesn’t do everything, but it’s not meant to. But there’s a definite return on investment from our side.”
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