How much sushi would you like?

The fish manufactory, whose raw materials are delivered to the headquarters in Bremerhaven and processed directly there, manages a wide range of products: in addition to perishable products such as sushi and fresh fish, the market leader for fish and seafood also has longer-lasting foods such as smoked mackerel and frozen saithe in its range. "Fish is very difficult to calculate," explains Stefan Kaune, Head of IT, Central Merchandise Management, Deutsche See. "This is mainly due to the unpredictable ordering behavior of customers, which fluctuates greatly not only during seasonal peaks and public holidays. This is precisely why we have to plan the receipt of raw materials precisely in order to be able to produce on time," continues Kaune. The tools previously used were no longer able to cope with this very complex task and resulted in a great deal of planning effort with inadequate results.

Finding the right balance

Inform's software system provides managers with detailed and item-specific forecasts of future demand situations, which the company uses to strike the right balance between low stock levels, high supply readiness and improved liquidity. "The best fish for everyone - that's our goal. With such a perishable foodstuff, this can only be achieved with detailed planning. By using addONE, we can optimize our stocks and reduce both our planning effort and our procurement costs," says Stefan Kaune.

"By using addONE, we can optimize our inventories and reduce our planning effort and procurement costs."

Stefan Kaune Head of IT, Central Merchandise Management, Deutsche See

Better planning quality thanks to intelligent algorithms

The new add-on system will provide Deutsche See's planners with clear graphics in future, offering them valuable decision-making aids and maximum transparency. In order to keep the planning effort as low as possible, the software applies the management-by-exception principle and primarily shows the planners problem cases such as acute or imminent stock shortages and delivery problems. These arise at Deutsche See mainly as a result of orders being received at very short notice. The main customers for fish products from the factory in Bremerhaven are retailers and restaurants, which are supplied via the 22 branches across Germany. As a rule, they only place their orders two hours before the trucks leave the fish factory in order to keep their own stocks low.

"Precise demand forecasts are irreplaceable, especially for food manufacturers," explains Ludger Schuh, Head of the Inventory & Supply Chain division at Inform. "With self-adapting forecasting methods based on intelligent algorithms, our software can provide users with fast and targeted support."

Stefan Kaune from Deutsche See is confident that the new planning quality will also reduce procurement costs, as stock shortages can be identified in good time and the goods can be ordered at the original price and not at the short-term market price.

www.deutschesee.dewww.inform-software.de