Business and Inventory Challenges

In the electronics industry, inventory and service level optimization challenges vary depending on the sector.

For instance, the semiconductor industry has traditionally been a lead time business, with significant opportunity for postponement. But increased commoditization and customer expectations of on-demand stock have driven turnaround times to as low as 24 hours and created a need for readily available inventory and a more balanced stocking strategy.

Consumer electronics and mobile devices behave more like fashion items. Short product life cycles demand fast turnaround. An important challenge is keeping fresh assortments if front of customers, despite a growing array of SKUs.

There are also emerging needs for vendor managed inventory (VMI) and the opportunity to propagate POS signals from retail channels upstream for more reliable service at DC (or depots and hubs in the case of network and infrastructure products).

ToolsGroup's Unique Capabilities

In this environment, ToolsGroup has the ability to deliver stable, reliable and very high service levels. In addition, we deliver improved short-term forecast accuracy, which is critical to achieving very high levels of service.

ToolsGroup solutions also address many of the specific needs of retailers such as handling:

• Product obsolescence requirements
• Supplier and manufacturer lead times
• Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI)

Successes

ToolsGroup is successfully deployed at electronics companies such as:

• Ingram Micro
• Findea
• PC City

For a complete list of customers and our unique capabilities for electronics companies, please contact the ToolsGroup office nearest you.