PRACTICE · BUY

Supply chain optimisation: availability up, stockholding down.

The supermarket supply chain has one purpose: the right product on the shelf at the lowest total cost. We optimise the whole flow — forecasting, DC, transport, store replenishment and the inventory records everything depends on.

The issue.

Grocers routinely carry too much of what does not sell and run out of what does — at the same time. The causes hide between functions: inaccurate perpetual inventory, replenishment rules nobody has reviewed, transport bought rather than planned, and availability measured at the warehouse instead of the shelf edge.

What we do.

• On-shelf availability programme: measurement at shelf edge, root-cause by gap type, store routines that close them
• Perpetual inventory accuracy: counting disciplines, exception management, training
• Replenishment and forecasting rules review by category velocity
• Transport consolidation and DC-to-store flow optimisation
• Stockholding and working-capital reduction with availability protected
• Supply chain resilience: scenario planning, trigger frameworks and continuity playbooks for regional disruption

How we work.

• Diagnose — availability at the shelf edge and the data behind it.
• Decide — which flows, rules and routines to rebuild first.
• Deliver — PI routines, replenishment rules and transport plans implemented.
• Embed — exception management and measurement owned by your teams.

What changes.

Availability rises measurably at the shelf; stock weeks fall; transport cost per case drops through consolidation; and the business gains a tested plan for the next disruption rather than a binder on a shelf.

Common questions.

Do you cover e-commerce and dark-store fulfilment?

Yes — including dark-store and micro-fulfilment operating models and their inventory disciplines.

We have a 3PL — is this still relevant?

Especially then. Cost-to-serve analysis and contract and SLA redesign are usually the fastest wins with outsourced logistics.

How do you measure availability?

At the shelf edge, by gap type and daypart — not warehouse fill rate. What the shopper sees is the only number that counts.

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