POCO achieves 95% more availability while reducing inventory

POCO, one of Germany's largest suppliers in the flat-pack furniture sector, has achieved product availability of around 95% while reducing inventory levels thanks to the REMIRA LOGOMATE inventory management software. POCO has now put a new multifunctional warehouse into operation in Lower Saxony. This was made possible by an interface extension in LOGOMATE.

The proven inventory management software from REMIRA has been ensuring optimal inventory levels and better availability at POCO for over ten years. The fast-growing furniture company employs more than 7,000 people in around 130 stores. POCO's comprehensive range includes furniture, kitchens, household goods, home textiles, paints, wallpaper, carpets, rugs, electrical goods, and gift items. Since 2012, products can also be ordered from the online shop.

Inventory management and automatic dispatching with only 15 employees

POCO organizes and optimizes its inventory with the help of REMIRA's LOGOMATE software. This supports POCO in the daily inventory planning of more than two million stock keeping units (SKUs) and is the tool for planning and controlling the flow of goods from the import warehouse to various regional warehouses and consolidated warehouses to the individual stores. The software supports quantity allocation at all stages. “Only by using this solution is it possible for this demanding task to be carried out by 15 employees. In addition to the ‘normal’ reordering of goods, LOGOMATE also helps with the distribution of large purchase quantities of individual items to the stores. This ensures that distribution is always based on demand and that the flow of goods is optimally controlled,” explains Daniel Reimann, Head of Disposition at POCO. By optimizing its processes with REMIRA LOGOMATE, POCO achieved an availability of around 95% while reducing inventory levels. Thanks to the LM PUSH add-on module, the company was also able to optimize the distribution of goods to the individual warehouses. Employees are relieved of tasks such as weekly demand determination and internal goods distribution from the central warehouses to the stores. Traditional scheduling is carried out per supplier on a weekly, fortnightly or three-weekly basis.

New interface simplifies warehouse allocation process

Smooth interaction with other key components within POCO's system landscape is particularly important for planning and calculation within the software. By optimizing the interfaces with REMIRA, the process of connecting new warehouses can be made more dynamic and efficient in the future and implemented independently by POCO. Previously, only one warehouse type could be assigned to a warehouse location in LOGOMATE, i.e., regional warehouse or central warehouse. With the interface extension, it is now possible to assign a separate warehouse type to a warehouse location for furniture and specialty assortments.

Joachim Leuenberger, Head of IT, is also pleased:

"This allows us to schedule large electrical appliances for all stores in Bomlitz, but furniture only for the stores connected as regional warehouses. We as users can now also change the warehouse type for each location, and after overnight processing, the new warehouse type is stored in LOGOMATE. This creates enormous flexibility. We are also particularly proud of having developed much of the interface to the MOEVE merchandise management system ourselves using our own expertise."

The new warehouse in Bomlitz serves as a multifunctional warehouse. This has made it possible to close a warehouse in Leinefeld that was used exclusively for large electrical appliances, as these items are now also handled in Bomlitz in the form of a central warehouse for all stores. At the same time, Bomlitz is a regional warehouse that supplies up to 15 stores with furniture and also serves as the online warehouse for two-man handling items.

Some of POCO's goods are also sourced from East Asia. The import department is responsible for coordinating the transport of goods and general import activities such as customs clearance, while the relevant employees in purchasing are responsible for selecting items and determining order quantities. The aim is to relieve the purchasers of the task of determining requirements by creating order proposals via LOGOMATE, as Daniel Reimann explains: "The procurement situation at POCO is currently fine, but we still face challenges in the form of long delivery times and regularly changing product ranges. However, we also have European suppliers who deliver to our central warehouse in Kamp-Lintfort, where we have already been able to switch some suppliers to LOGOMATE, so that demand determination for the central warehouse is now handled by the software."

Inventory management is also handled by REMIRA

POCO has relied on REMIRA for many years, not only for inventory management, but also for inventory taking. The REMIRA STATCONTROL Cloud random inventory software significantly reduces the manpower required for the physical recording of actual stock levels. POCO now uses the random inventory software in all its stores. Whether it's inventory management or inventory taking, POCO is happy to have REMIRA as a reliable partner, as Daniel Reimann and Joachim Leuenberger agree:

“After brief and productive discussions, the necessary changes are implemented quickly and to a high standard. It is not least thanks to such joint developments that it is now possible to respond immediately and appropriately to changes in the warehouse structures at POCO. The bottom line is that, thanks to LOGOMATE, stock levels are sufficient and distributed in a targeted manner across the company, while product availability remains at a particularly high level.”

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