Slimstock, winner of the Dutch Logistics Award, is being praised for its innovative approach to the inventory optimization market. According to the jury, the company—which supplies software and specializes in inventory management—has placed strong emphasis on improving customer inventories, with a focus on customer satisfaction and measurable improvements. Slimstock is known for its knowledge development and organizational agility, which contributed to winning this prestigious award in November. In an interview, Jan Kraaijeveld and Anne van der Weerd of Slimstock share more insights into their win and discuss the impact of factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic on the supply chain.
Encouragement
Jan Kraaijeveld of Slimstock responds to winning the Dutch Logistics Award with a wink: “We really don't come in here high-fiving every day, but of course we're proud of the win.” He emphasizes that the award is based in part on customer references and a visit to the organization. Winning the prize is being celebrated with internal festivities, treats for customers, and contact with previous winners. Kraaijeveld stresses that this is not an award for completing a specific project, but rather an encouragement to keep doing what Slimstock is good at: inventory management. He also shares the company's distinctive approach, with in-house development and implementation of everything, and a focus on customer questions about inventory management.
Finding balance faster
Jan Kraaijeveld, who has been with Slimstock for more than twelve years, holds a commercial role at the company, which has been active since 1993 and has 22 offices worldwide. In his position, he is responsible for both new and existing customers. Slimstock serves a wide range of sectors, including traditional wholesalers such as Destil, Kramp and Mediq, but also consumer-focused brands and e-commerce businesses such as Bax Music, fonQ, Rituals and Smulderstextiel.nl. The company is active in both B2B and B2C and is known for helping businesses strike the right balance between inventory levels and availability, while improving the speed of decision-making.
Focus on knowledge and on helping
Anne van der Weerd, responsible for sales & business development at Slimstock, joined the company more than six years ago. She first came into contact with Slimstock right after her studies and was drawn in by the atmosphere and the people. She started as a trainee in Slimstock's young professionals program, which allowed her to observe various departments and learn a great deal about Slim4. What appeals to her personally is the combination of a focus on knowledge and helping organizations. Slimstock also has its own Academy, through which customers can expand their supply chain knowledge free of charge.
Corona
The coronavirus crisis significantly increased attention to inventory management, particularly as international production and distribution chains became disrupted and lead times grew longer. This highlighted the importance of product availability, whereas in the years leading up to the pandemic, many organizations had actually been trying to hold less inventory. Jan Kraaijeveld emphasizes that inventory management is about dealing with uncertainty and making well-considered choices. It is essential to know when customers need certain products and to steer based on data. Too much inventory can undermine strategic goals, whether business is going badly or, in fact, going well. In one case, you end up stuck with surplus stock, while in the other it can put pressure on working capital.
From products to processes
Jan Kraaijeveld and Anne van der Weerd point out that companies often confirm that inventory is important to them, yet don't regard it as an urgent issue. Kraaijeveld notes that it's not uncommon for companies to be unaware that they have problems supplying products from their top-100 best-selling items. Slimstock can make organizations aware of such issues and increasingly uses data and computing power—thanks to advanced applications of AI—to help customers in a targeted way. He emphasizes that these days it's more about the processes at the back end of the supply chain than about individual products. Through automation, such as with 'If This Then That', supply chains today can be considerably different from what they were five years ago. At the same time, goods have become scarcer and finding qualified staff has become a greater challenge.
Operating more sustainably
Sustainability has also become an important topic, Anne van der Weerd notes in conversations with Slimstock's customers. Companies aim to prevent products from taking up unnecessary space and gathering dust, and above all they don't want them to eventually have to be thrown away. Slimstock's software, which is continuously being improved, serves as a means to help buyers avoid poor purchasing decisions and operate more sustainably. Van der Weerd stresses that although the software is a tool, it is the people at Slimstock who make the difference for customers. Slimstock does not regard itself as IT specialists, but as providers of insight into inventory flows. They show customers what progress they can achieve by adjusting certain parameters. Van der Weerd looks forward to the Webwinkel Vakdagen as an opportunity to meet many people, to inspire and be inspired.