MITS, a provider of advanced reporting and analytics solutions, has announced a new inventory analysis tool for wholesale distributors using the Epicor (formerly Activant) Prelude distribution management system called the Prelude Inventory Hypercube.
The Prelude Inventory Hypercube, which is being sold in partnership with Epicor, consists of a specialized, analytics-tuned data collection culled from inventory data in Prelude that enables business users to quickly and easily perform a wide range of inventory analyses.
"Inventory control is very challenging in uncertain economic times," Fred Owen, MITS president, explains. "When demand becomes unpredictable, it is challenging to make the right decisions on what to stock, how much and where. This solution gives distributors deep insights into the location and stock levels, as well as trending information on products that are moving more quickly, or more slowly. All of this helps to optimize the substantial investment that most distributors have in their biggest asset."
MITS had access to Epicor's engineering resources in developing the solution, Owen notes.
Used in conjunction with MITS Discover, the company's advanced, online analytical processing (OLAP) solution, the Prelude Inventory Hypercube gives business users two key views of inventory data: profitability, or return on asset; and inventory quantity and value across branches, vendors, product lines and an array of other dimensions.
"Most importantly, the Prelude Inventory Hypercube lets distributors analyze and maximize their return on the biggest investment they make," says Owen. "Every distribution business, no matter how successful, has a product, location, vendor or other area that can perform better. This hypercube lets them spot those performance areas and determine how to improve them."
With the new solution, distributors can identify issues and opportunities such as:
- A low-profit product that's being carried in overly large quantities
- A high-margin product line that suffers out-of-stock problems or turns over too slowly
- A branch or location with unusually low-or high-gross margins or gross margin return on investment (GMROI).
It is expected that branch managers, purchasing agents and line buyers will use the new solution on a daily basis to spot shrinking stock levels, product line weakness, and specific winning and losing products. The solution will also help highlight where valuable space can be reclaimed, and pinpoint slowdowns in high-value stock-either company-wide or at specific warehouses or branches.
For more information, go to www.mits.com.