The service level required by your organization has a direct impact on how much stock you must keep in inventory at all times.

Service level must be set in accordance with your organization's inventory management strategy and objectives. It has a significant financial impact and must be monitored, analyzed and fine tuned to maintain the appropriate level of service required to satisfy your internal or external clients' evolving needs.

The service level is, in other words, the availability of a given item. Not only does it represent the amount required of this particular item, but also the amount that must be kept in reserve so that your organization never runs out of stock. Being out of stock can have a significant impact on how your company is perceived by your clients.

IMAFS helps you calculate an item's service level, whether you monitor your stocks or not. No need for manual repetitive tasks, no waste of time. Thanks to its powerful processing capabilities IMAFS helps you stay on target at all times.

IMAFS also helps you determine your service level objectives from class, family and warehouse perspectives. It can even do it from an item criticality standpoint by using highest level objective between the item class and the predefined criticality. Managers set the required service level objectives on a per class, per product family and per distribution points.

Service level is critical. Therefore, IMAFS evaluates actual service levels rate and compares it to the service objective you set previously. IMAFS can also assist you in taking the appropriate course of action to manage poor-performing items quickly and efficiently.

Thanks to its user-friendly dashboard, IMAFS lets you monitor your inventory by offering you quick overviews of your stock while enabling you track your item availability performance history. This empowers managers by letting them zero in on problematic situation and follows trends so they can react promptly to handle any crisis that may develop.

In inventory management timing is of the essence and in inventory optimization, lead time is critical!

When it comes to inventory optimization, lead time plays a critical role per vendor, and failure to focus on its accuracy may have a significant negative impact on your organization's performance and yours. Worse, it will impact your client's performance!

IMAFS has a unique way of performing lead time computations. It does so by item, supplier, and mode of transport while automatically applying its data point-smoothing algorithm to increase the accuracy and precision of your lead times.

IMAFS also performs its calculations by taking into account multiple parameters such as:

• Reception timeframes
• Order issuing delays
• Additional delays that may be caused by items forgotten in a supplier's agreement
• The frequency at which orders are placed at a different supplier
• etc.

Lead times are also composed of compounded timeframes from the multiple steps composing the entire chain. If not calculated accurately, scenarios may develop where unforeseen and costly delays, as well as service challenges, will most certainly impact your organization's performance and bottom line.

Precise and accurate lead time is a significant contributor to an organization's success and reputation. Act now!

Lead Time – Average Lead Time

Precise and accurate demand forecasts are important to provide you and your organization with an extra, non-negligible 20% of accuracy. This results in a 20% reduction of safety stock!

One of IMAFS's most powerful features is its ability to predict demand based on variable or fixed criteria setting the safety stock, Min Max values for each item, based on your available demand history.

With IMAFS, managers can now benefit from a powerful toolbox that is second to none from an accuracy and precision perspective.

Although IMAFS generates demand forecasts traditionally, it can now compute these forecasts using artificial intelligence. Based on our observation in the field, AI can provide an additional 20% accuracy in demand predictions, even for items with intermittent demand.

IMAFS can also automatically perform number-crunching and decision-making processes every month to evaluate consumption data and select the most optimized forecasting method from a wide variety of possible scenarios.

IMAFS expertly computes its forecasts based on the total demand at any point in the distribution network.

You can also allow IMAFS to include manual forecasts into the Min Max calculations.

As you can now see, IMAFS provides you with the ability to foresee the future so you can plan, order stock, and deliver each item of your inventory without unnecessary excess stock or shortages.

Demand Management and Forecasting

Dynamic and periodical Min Max values computations are critical to inventory optimization. IMAFS excels in this task!

Safety stock and Min Max values are at the core of inventory optimization. But as a quick refresher, the safety stock is the lowest amount of an item you must keep in stock at all times. The Min value is the threshold that indicates that you are running out for a given product and that you must promptly take action and reorder to reset your item's stock to your defined Max value.

Min Max values should normally be dynamic due to a combination of constants and variables involved in the product demand, seasonality, the purchasing and receiving processes, and the distribution network.

IMAFS excels to monthly setting these values precisely and accurately by taking into account in its computations parameters such as:

• Item classification
• Ordering and carrying costs
• Service goals
• Computed lead times
• Generated forecasts
• Maximum shelf space
• Multiple usage
• etc.

IMAFS can set precise limits for the safety stock or the lot size in time units or quantities by product class, warehouse, and product family. It can also compute, taking into account your service objectives, specific lead times, and forecast accuracy, your safety stocks.

Based on the EOQ concept but adapted to forecasts over a replenishment period, IMAFS determines lot sizes stored in an inventory table.

IMAFS also processes inventory parameters. Using the month as the unit of time, it converts it into units, using the forecasted demand. The forecast is computed, including trends and, if required, item seasonality.

The setting process of the Min Max values for each of your items held in stock is imperative and crucial for proper inventory optimization.

Min Max Calculations – Inventory Values vs SS Min Max

Surplus stock is something that raises hard questions, but having the right amount of it can raise your performance to the next level!

Everyone is trying to cut costs, save some money here and there, but proper inventory optimization requires that you store enough of an item to meet demand and service level. But only the right amount, no more, no less.

To know what amount of a product you need to have on hand at all times, IMAFS assists you in spotting potential unneeded surplus stock by tracking specific data points.

Managers can interpret the cause of surplus stock in various ways. Here are a few:

• The on-hand inventory for an item is greater than the defined Max
• The net inventory (quantity on hand + quantity in order – reserved quantity) is greater than the defined Max
• The on-hand inventory is greater than a number of months of annual consumption; the number of months being defined by class and family
• The on-hand inventory is greater than the defined Max on hand (safety stock + economical order quantity)

These potential unfortunate occurrences can be analyzed by product class, warehouse, and product family.

IMAFS offers exception reports that give you a clear picture of the situation so you can take action with corrective measures that will realign your stock to reflect your overall inventory management objectives and strategy.

Surplus Stock – Surplus QOH > Final Max Value

Today, managers need to get right to the point when asked a question about their inventory management. IMAFS business intelligence provides them with the answers.

Our ability as managers to communicate precisely, accurately and at warp speed information regarding our inventories is a clear sign that we are control of our inventory optimization process. IMAFS is instrumental to help you be in control with its clear and easy ways to use business intelligence dashboard.

A minimalistic interface hides highly a sophisticated and powerful set of algorithms that enables IMAFS to produce data visualizations that are concise, precise and accurate. IMAFS helps managers monitor what's happening, keep an eye on trends, detect potential threats before they become problematic, and keep their inventory at optimal levels by tracking many data points such as:

• Results by class, family, warehouse and other filters
• Stock evolution
• Surplus evolution
• Service evolution
• Inventory turns evolution
• Service control
• Key performance indicators
• Flexible and intuitive
• Performance monitoring

Be in complete control of your inventory with IMAFS's business intelligence dashboard, developed specifically to help you review your inventory in a straightforward, concise and time-saving fashion. By using it, you'll be able to reach your objectives and achieve success!

Business Intelligence Dashboard – History

Business Intelligence Dashboard – Current Position

30 exception reports to keep managers organized and informed.

IMAFS provides about 30 exception reports that cover pretty much any requirement on a daily, monthly or ad hoc basis. As users, you will identify the ones amongst the 30, you want to work with. But if you need exception reports with additional information, you can easily create custom ones by using those provided as stepping stones. Then finalize your own to make them match your specific needs.

You can also design your own reports from the ground up by adding or removing fields, filters or data groups.

With exception reports you can track:

• Item availability
• Inventory surplus
• Product classification
• Lead times
• Forecasts
• Min Max

Exception reports are an invaluable tool for managers who want to gather insights about their inventory and better optimize their stocks.

Exception Reports

Get a detailed snapshot of your current inventory with IMAFS's Zoom Report.

When managers want to view detailed information about their inventory with breakdowns by class, family, and warehouse, IMAFS's Zoom Report's got them covered! With it, you'll be able to drill down deeper and perform additional multi-level analysis and on-the-fly modifications.

Zoom Report answers many questions, here are a few:

• What are the product availability rates for critical items?
• What are the popular items that are at zero-stock right now?
• Which and how many items have not moved in the last 12 months and what is their current inventory value?
• What is your current overstock value?
• How much obsolete stock are you carrying?
• Are there open orders for overstock items?
• What is your optimal stocking level?
• What are your inventory turns?

Zoom Report provides you with increased data visualization so you can better manage your inventory!

Zoom Report

IMAFS's artificial intelligence-driven forecasting helps you create savings and increase profits

IMAFS has never been more powerful.

With artificial intelligence now at the heart of IMAFS, managers can now squeeze out more savings from their inventories and create additional profits, which makes them contribute significantly to their organization's bottom line.

AI can perform highly complex analyses of a vast number of parameters and provide forecasts with unmatched accuracy. The advantage is that AI can reliably perform these complex tasks at high speed, leaving in the dust traditional inventory techniques.

AI handles parameters such as transport mode, carrier, weather, customs, seasonality, holidays, availability, and many other data points and variables. Thanks to its cutting-edge machine-learning predictive model, IMAFS is now able to compute these data points to provide you with even better insights and far more accurate forecasts than any other system on the market.

Some of the benefits:

• Performance and profits optimization
• Considerable supply chain efficiency and inventory availability improvements
• Significant cost reduction
• More accurate and precise lead time and forecasting computations

AI is a critical player in big data and complex analysis. It will help you considerably accelerate your ability to provide precise, accurate and reliable forecasts to your management while improving your quality of life in the workplace and beyond.

IMAFS can interface with virtually any transactional system like SAP, Oracle, Maximo, Guide Ti and others.

If you already have a transactional system in which you've invested time and money for years, don't worry! You don't have to replace it. Add IMAFS to the mix. It can easily interface with almost any system. IMAFS is not an inventory system; its specialty is inventory optimization which is above and beyond the capabilities of current systems.

IMAFS provides:

• A straightforward, proven, and robust interface
• Fast, transparent, and reliable connectivity with any transactional system (ERP, EAM/CMMS, WMS)
• Data collection from the current transactional system, inventory management parameter creation, and management tools.

IMAFS can interface with systems like SAP and many others while keeping IT managers relaxed because it won't alter their live data. IMAFS only grabs the required data sets from the live system, imports it in its proprietary engine, and performs its magic. Once you are satisfied with your review of the results, you can import the process data back into your live system. That's it!

Seamless Integration

Opti MinMax can assist you with IMAFS's integration and help you overcome your inventory optimization challenges.

The Opti MinMax team has been involved in the initial design of IMAFS' logics from the start. Opti MinMax is pleased to continue its efforts as the exclusive distributor of IMAFS for North America (excluding the mining industry).

Because managers have invaluable information and expertise about their organizations and precious historical data, their input will only make IMAFS even more powerful. This is why they'll be able to easily manage manual parameters.

But should you need assistance, we can:

• Provides solution-oriented results
• Assists in stock availability management
• Offers inventory management best practices
• Responds to on-demand support with our analysts
• Guarantees a trouble-free integration and connectivity
• Proposes a pre-sales ROI simulation
• Allows access to its Cloud Mode

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• Supplies a user-friendly and intuitive experience
• Allows managers to enjoy full control over their inventory management settings

But should you need assistance in convincing your management to integrate IMAFS in your inventory management process, or if you feel the need for more proof about IMAFS's exceptional capabilities, we can arrange a personalized test-drive. This simulation will process a sample of your real data. We have absolutely no doubt that the results will speak for themselves.

Your next step is to contact Opti MinMax.
You'll be able to take IMAFS for a spin in no time!

The Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC)

The Iron Ore Company of Canada produces iron ore for steel, aluminum for cars and smartphones, copper for wind turbines, diamonds that set the standard for “responsible”, titanium for household products and borates for crops that feed the world.

Objective:

Quickly reduce the inventories without decreasing the service level and ensure better control of items

Solution:

Use IMAFS to classify items according to their criticality and their demand and calculate optimized inventory parameters (Min Max) according to this classification and service objectives

Result:

• Global inventory reduction of 15% within the first 10 months (29% for items controlled by IMAFS), without any diminution of service level
• Maintained availability rate of critical items
• Better inventory control

Société de transport de Montréal (STM)

Environment

STM operates nearly 1,600 buses and 759 metro cars. It operates parts manufacturing facilities and performs all maintenance activities in-house including the major maintenance. STM also performs the maintenance of its metro stations and the many buildings of its network. It stores over 250,000 items with its network of more than 30 stores.

Mandate type and description

Inventory management process improvements.

Initial problem statement

Over the years STM has experienced a continuous increase of its inventory. The company did not have the necessary tools to properly optimize its inventory and its human resources were inadequate in number and lacking the expertise to manage it.

Solutions

Since 2007, the STM has invested great efforts and means to improve its processes, tools and resources for the management of its inventory. STM had added skilled resources with university degrees in addition to offering several training programs to its internal resources.

In 2008, after a comprehensive study of its alternative and following a public tender, STM had selected the inventory optimization software IMAFS.

Results

Overall, parts availability has increased from 76.4% to 94% between June 2008 and January 2011, while inventory levels remained stable at $ 34,750 million. Such an improvement in parts availability with a stable inventory is remarkable in itself.

This increase in parts availability had a significant impact on the number of unavailable vehicles, which fell more than 25% between 2008 and 2010.

The stability of inventory levels is indeed remarkable since it had always experienced steady growth. From January 2003 to June 2008, STM’s store inventory rose from $ 15 to $ 35 million. The increase was partly due to significant projects, changes in the valuation of items, and the introduction of new equipment.

Inventory levels have now stabilized despite STM continuing to pursue new projects, and it increased the numbers of stocked parts.

Since 2008, this achievement has been accomplished even though over 31,700 new parts-stores were created during this period, an increase of more than 15% of its number or value. There have been investments of over $ 5.27 million in new parts and decreases of less than $ 250,000 for obsolete items. The number of lines purchased has also decreased by 14% and transfer order lines by 6% for store items, which resulted in lower costs of operations.

The operational improvement was also completed through an efficient change management process of the new roles and responsibilities and the culture to adopt more scientific approaches.

If we isolate only the parts that existed before the implantation of IMAFS and have not been declared obsolete, the total inventory levels decreased from $ 33.65 million in June 2008 to 29.24 million in January 2011, or down 13.1% while the overall service levels for these items increased from 76.4% to 94%.

If we isolate only the parts that existed before the implantation of IMAFS and have not been declared obsolete, the total inventory levels decreased by 13.1% while the overall service levels for these items increased from 76.4% to 94%.

The results are undoubtedly due, to some extent, to the implementation of IMAFS, the efforts of the team, the business process improvements, and the improved availability of machined and manufactured parts by STM.

Executives from STM are pleased to observe that there is still potential for further improvement of inventory management using IMAFS and with the sustained involvement of internal resources.

Salade Etcetera ! Québec

Salade Etcetera! Inc (a division of Vegpro International) is a family owned business founded in 1998. The company sells prepackaged salads on the east coast of North America

Objective:

Occupy the store space with the right parts in the right quantity and increase the level of service of parts consumed frequently

Solution:

• Implement IMAFS to have a dynamic management of Min Max which takes into account the service objectives and the space available in the warehouse.
• Use the IMAFS exception lists to clean up inventories and monitor suppliers

Result:

• Overall inventory reduction of 2.4% in 5 months (9.4% if we only consider the items managed by IMAFS)
• Overall reduction of 17% in stock shortages (29% on class A items)