Winzer Achieves 1350% ROI with Vanguard Predictive Planning for Inventory Optimization

Through a series of acquisitions, Winzer had multiplied its number of stocking warehouses across multiple locations. The company struggled to reduce safety stock while maintaining its 99 percent order-fill-rate goal. Most of Winzer’s 165,000-plus SKUs experienced sporadic demand that could not be successfully forecast with the company’s in-house purchase recommendation system. To mitigate financial loss due to inaccuracy, Winzer carried $1.08M in inventory with low turn. Lack of trust in the system spurred Winzer’s purchasing managers to review and adjust each forecast, often using assumptions that were inconsistent from manager to manager. Winzer estimated this process cost each manager 2 to 3 days per month. Limited reporting features added to the difficulty of managing inventory. To reduce inventory and associated carrying costs, Winzer began looking for an automated inventory optimization solution that could accurately forecast demand.

Winzer is a full-service spare parts distributor that has expanded significantly through a series of acquisitions. The company operates multiple stocking warehouses across various locations and manages over 165,000 SKUs. Winzer aims to maintain a high order-fill-rate of 99 percent while optimizing its inventory levels. The company faced challenges with sporadic demand for its products and needed a reliable solution to forecast demand accurately and reduce inventory carrying costs. Winzer's purchasing managers were spending significant time manually adjusting forecasts due to a lack of trust in the existing system, leading to inefficiencies and inconsistent assumptions.