In addition to understanding transportation costs, procurement costs and storage costs, CINO allows for the correct levels of inventory to be layered on top of the network to cover the risk in the supply chain.

Strategy optimization

CINO allows for inventory strategy optimization by:

Optimizing on total supply chain costs including procurement, transportation, warehousing and inventory

Optimizing replenishment policies and safety stock levels

Quantifying the impacts on service and inventory levels of new network designs or supply chain initiatives

Optimal sourcing rules and mode of transport

Taking into account constraints

Model, compare and save different “as-is” and “what-if” scenarios

Functionality

CINO derives a cost-optimized forward projection of inventory flow over a defined time horizon. It synchronizes order logic across all locations in the supply chain, leading to a coordinated flow of product, at lowest cost, whilst respecting real world constraints. This approach eliminates the “bull whip effect” often caused by sequential distribution requirements planning (DRP) techniques.

CINO calculates the optimal inventory policy levels for each node in the supply chain. Target service levels defined by the user and forecast error at sales points are translated through the supply chain so that upstream target service levels are supportive.