The challenge

2Connect approached us with the ambition to better align their purchasing management with actual sales. As a supplier of cables, 2Connects has to deal with multiple components that must be purchased for a single product. A late delivery of one component can mean that an entire product is delayed. These types of products, which depend heavily on the delivery of its components, are also known as inventory-driven products. This creates a real optimization puzzle: on the one hand, 2Connect never wants to run out of key components for stock-driven projects; on the other hand, they also want to keep as little in stock as possible because of the added costs.

What we did

To keep the scope of the project manageable, we chose a solution focusing on five specific stock-controlled products. With positive results, the solution could later be applied to all products in a subsequent project.

The result

MKB Datalab delivered a script that optimizes inventory management over the year for the five chosen inventory-driven products, taking into account seasonal supply and demand. Additional documentation described both the model created and the choices and considerations made. A follow-up project of three projects was also mapped out to work toward a scaled-up model that works across all products, including implementation of the model within 2Connect’s production line.