Forecasting warehouse stock to cut waste from expired products
Expired and unused stock was costing money and space. We built a way to forecast stock accurately and report on it faster, saving millions of dollars by avoiding overstocking.
- of dollars saved by avoiding overstocking
- Millionsof dollars saved by avoiding overstocking
- faster stock reporting
- 50%faster stock reporting
- waste from expired and unused products
- Lesswaste from expired and unused products
The challenge
Warehouse stock is expensive to hold, and stock that expires before it is used has no value at all. Without a reliable view of future demand, the safe-looking choice is to order more, which raises holding costs and wastage.
The organisation needed to understand how stock was actually being used, and to see future needs early enough to order the right quantities.
Before and after
Before
- Stock levels set without a reliable view of demand
- Products expiring on shelves before use
- Money tied up in overstocked and unused items
- Slow reporting with limited insight into usage
After
- A clear view of how stock is used over time
- Forecasts of future needs to guide ordering
- Stock reports produced in half the time
- Millions of dollars saved by avoiding overstocking
Our approach
- 01
Review stock and usage
We examined stock levels, usage patterns, and where and why products were expiring.
- 02
Define how stock should be forecast
We set out forecasting mechanisms suited to different types of products and how they are used.
- 03
Build the model
We built a model that tracks utilisation and projects future stock needs.
- 04
Connect forecasts to ordering
We aligned the forecasts and stock reporting with ordering decisions, so the insight changes what is bought and when.
The outcome
Avoiding overstocking has saved millions of dollars. Ordering is now guided by expected demand, which has also reduced waste from expired and unused products.
Stock reporting is 50% faster, so the organisation can see how its stock is used and plan ahead, rather than reacting once shelves are empty or products have expired.
