Procon Products Uses Epicor Inventory Planning & Optimization to Keep Business Flowing
Procon Products (a division of Invest Industrial / Ceme Group), an industry-leading pump manufacturer, uses Epicor Inventory Planning & Optimization (IP&O) demand planning and inventory optimization to make sure they have the products their customers need when they need them. You might not have heard of their products, but if you’ve ever eaten at McDonalds or sipped a coffee at Starbucks, you have been served by Procon. Procon’s broad portfolio of over 7,000 SKUs is supplied to more than 70 countries worldwide through their direct sales channel and an extensive distributor network. Procon operates manufacturing facilities in the US, Mexico, Ireland, and through a licensed manufacturing partner in Japan. We spoke with Procon’s Shankar Suman, Director of Business Development & Product Strategy, and Emer Horan, Global Supply Chain Manager, to learn more.
If Procon cannot ship a required product, their customers cannot ship theirs. Accurate forecasting is a key driver of supply chain success and customer satisfaction. Procon’s monthly planning establishes the consensus demand plan that drives procurement, production, and stocking policies. However, they discovered they had a gap between sales and procurement, which historically led to missed deliveries and excess inventory. What Procon needed was a robust demand forecasting and inventory optimization tool that was easy to use, enabled collaborative planning with their sales team and partners, and integrated with their ERP system to drive procurement and production planning.
They found this in Epicor Inventory Planning & Optimization (Epicor IP&O), a web-based platform for statistical forecasting, demand planning, and inventory optimization.
Shankar Suman cited a broad mix of capabilities that convinced them to utilize Epicor IP&O. Chief among them were:
Our partnership with Epicor Inventory Planning & Optimization has been remarkable, evolving over three years with continuous support and delivering exactly what we need. The tools empower our sales team, contributing not just to forecast accuracy but also to elevated customer satisfaction and on-time deliveries. The collaborative tools, advanced analytics, and seamless integration with our ERP system led us to improved accuracy, optimal inventory levels, and enhanced on-time deliveries.
Emer Horan explained how this plays out over the course of each month. Emer provides forecasts for each of their five sales managers, they meet to compare statistical and sales forecasts, and agree on a revised 12-month consensus plan. The sales managers have a good sense for the top accounts that represent 80% of revenue, often including direct input from customers themselves, and the statistical forecast fills in the gaps. Next month they use the forecast vs. actual analytics to help improve accuracy, then repeat the process.
“Our sales team is incentivized to maintain and improve sales forecast accuracy,” said Emer, “and we have the tools to help them succeed. This not only ensures optimal inventory levels but also contributes to improve on-time delivery and higher customer satisfaction.”
Our sales team is incentivized to maintain and improve sales forecast accuracy, and we have the tools to help them succeed. This not only ensures optimal inventory levels but also contributes to improve on-time delivery and higher customer satisfaction.
“Our journey with Epicor Inventory Planning & Optimization has been quite remarkable,” added Shankar. “We began with an initial idea of the functionality and interface, and it has continually evolved from there. The team has shown tremendous support and patience with our scope changes, delivering the product exactly the way we needed and wanted it. We have been using Epicor IP&O for over three years now, and this journey is ongoing. We continue to receive excellent support from the delivery team and truly enjoy working with them.”
