Driving Efficiency: Arbomex, a World-Class Auto Parts Supplier, Transforms SAP stock Planning with SiMPL Planning Monitor

 In today’s fast-paced industrial landscape, efficient planning and inventory management are critical to maintaining a competitive edge. Arbomex, a leading supplier of iron, aluminum and steel solutions, has been at the forefront of the automotive, energy and industrial sectors for over 45 years. As a Tier 1 and Tier 2 supplier to renowned automotive manufacturers such as Ford and Stellantis (which includes Dodge, Chrysler and Fiat), Arbomex has continually sought innovative solutions to optimize their operations. Recently, we asked Arbomex about the results of using SiMPL Planning Monitor for more than 2 years.  SiMPL, a planning application designed to streamline the planning process in SAP. This step has significantly improved their inventory management capabilities and operational efficiency.

The Challenge

Before implementing SiMPL Planning Monitor, Arbomex faced challenges in its planning processes. The traditional methods of managing inventory through standard transactions in SAP did not meet the needs of their dynamic supply chain.

Key challenges included:

1. Inefficient Inventory Management: Arbomex struggled with maintaining optimal stock levels, often leading to either overstocking or stockouts. This inefficiency resulted in increased warehousing costs and the risk of delayed deliveries.
2. Reactive Planning Approach: The existing planning systems were primarily reactive, responding to issues as they arose rather than anticipating and preventing them. This lack of proactivity impacted their ability to meet customer demands consistently.
3. Time-consuming in outdated Excel analysis: Navigating between different standard SAP transactions and sometimes downloading and consolidating information into endless Excel templates to analyze the planning situation of multiple materials takes a long time, perhaps more than users need to make timely decisions.

The Solution: SiMPL Planning Monitor

To address these challenges, Arbomex turned to SiMPL Planning Monitor, implemented as a SaaS solution served from AWS for the front-end component and the core in SAP, maintaining consistency and compliance. SiMPL Planning Monitor is specifically designed to enhance the planning processes within SAP environments, providing a robust and scalable solution to meet the needs of modern supply chains.

Key Features and Benefits:

1. Optimized Inventory Management: With SiMPL Planning Monitor, Arbomex has been able to streamline its inventory planning processes. The application provides real-time visibility into inventory levels, enabling Arbomex to anticipate demand and take proactive measures to maintain healthy inventory levels. This optimization has significantly reduced inventory costs and ensured proper availability of key products.
2. Proactive Planning: SiMPL Planning Monitor’s capabilities have transformed Arbomex’s planning approach from reactive to proactive. The application allows Arbomex to plan ahead, analyze from different MRP rules, and anticipate potential disruptions. This shift has improved their ability to meet customer demands and increased overall customer satisfaction.
3. Easy-to-deploy / Easy-to-support: Easy-to-deploy / Easy-to-support : Implemented on SaaS option of AWS, SiMPL Planning Monitor is based on standard SAP MRP functions, provide seamless integration with SAP to reduce time and cost in implementation and maintenance, is free from worry about technical support of infrastructure, update UI5 libraries, maintain compatibility with SAP versions. Innova takes care of it all.
4. Save users time make timely decisions: A friendly user experience is SiMPL is not just an aesthetic thing. Consolidating planning data in a way to consume, understand and get easy warning alerts to identify potential risks is a matter of time-consuming activities, and making proper decisions in the proper time.

The Results

Since implementing SiMPL Planning Monitor, Arbomex has experienced significant improvements in their planning processes and overall operational efficiency. Some of the key outcomes include:

1. Reduced Warehousing Costs: By maintaining optimized stock levels and minimizing excess inventory, Arbomex has reduced warehousing costs. The improved inventory management processes have also decreased the risk of stockouts and ensured the timely availability of products.
2. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: With a proactive planning approach, analyzing multiple scenarios, Arbomex has been able to meet customer demands more consistently. This reliability has strengthened their relationships with key customers, including major automotive manufacturers like Ford and Stellantis.
3. Increased Operational Efficiency: The seamless integration of SiMPL Planning Monitor with SAP has streamlined various planning activities, reducing the time and effort required to manage the planning process. This efficiency has allowed Arbomex to focus more on strategic initiatives and drive growth.

Looking Ahead

The success of Arbomex with SiMPL Planning Monitor highlights the transformative potential of advanced planning solutions for SAP companies. By consolidation of information, early warning alerts about risks of overstock or stock-outs, analysis of multiple scenarios, let planning users a timely and accurate decision-making process to streamline and strengthened the supply chain.

Learn More About SiMPL Planning Monitor

SiMPL Planning Monitor is designed to streamline the planning process in SAP for various industries and planning scenarios taking advantage of multiple SAP user focused features.

Reorder point

Companies that rely heavily on spare parts, such as oil and gas, utilities, energy, and telecommunications, count on:

• Easy-to-read icons that warn you of the risk of under- or overstocking,
• Simulation of projected future coverage based on historical consumption,
• Analyze and automatically calculate parameters such as reorder point, safety stock, and maximum stock based on historical data to optimize stock levels.

Planning based on needs

For companies that plan based on forecasts, such as manufacturers or wholesalers:

• Multiple options for editing or uploading forecasts, with freeze periods to prevent last-minute changes and supply chain disruptions.
• Compare multiple versions of forecasts and plan vs. actual forecasts to analyze compliance or variances.
• Transfer to demand management, all in the same point of entry, instead of 3 or 4 transactions in SAP to do the same process.

Unique Lot Expiration Prediction Feature

In companies like Pharmaceutical, Cosmetic, Food and Beverage or any other where shelf life expiration date is critical, SiMPL offer and easy way to predict, anticipate and avoid wasting material (and money) for expiration.

MTO / MTS – Manufacture

For companies with production process:

• Analysis of multi-level planning situations in the BOM explosion, allowing users to analyze the impact of changes in finished goods on component inventory levels.
• Capacity analysis to identify potential overloads in your work centers and the ability to modify the production plan and balance the load.
• Analysis of the planning situation for special inventory scenarios such as make-to-order, separated by customer orders.

We invite you to watch our video summarizing the features of SiMPL Planning Monitor and book a demo to learn more about how our solution can be deployed to meet your specific needs. Discover how SiMPL can help your organization achieve greater efficiency, cost savings, and customer satisfaction.

Book a Demo Today

Experience the benefits of SiMPL Planning Monitor for yourself. Book a demo and learn how our solution can simplify your planning processes and drive success in your organization. Join Arbomex and other industry leaders in optimizing your operations with SiMPL Planning Monitor.

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Arbomex’s success story is a testament to the power of innovative solutions in enhancing operational efficiency and driving growth. By adopting SiMPL Planning Monitor, Arbomex has not only optimized their inventory management but also set a new standard for proactive planning in the industry. If you are looking to streamline your planning processes and achieve similar success, SiMPL Planning Monitor is the solution you need.