LMC, a century-old family business with over 200 employees, is the leading and preferred partner for furniture and fittings professionals. In 2002, LMC became Slimstock France’s first customer. Since adopting Slim4, they have seen fantastic improvements, including a 80% reduction in backorders following their most recent optimisation project..
Today, the LMC Group comprises four brands, each specialising in its own field: LMC (components for furniture and interior fittings), Optima (made-to-measure solutions), Natural Wood (decking, parquet, and made-to-measure complements), and Module (innovation and training facilities).
LMC boasts a state-of-the-art logistics organisation, fully digitised and automated for enhanced responsiveness and resilience. Simon Verhille notes:
“For years, we have been dedicated to simplifying our customers’ daily lives by offering a selection of high-quality, innovative products and service, with 97% of products available from stock. By integrating Slim4, the demand planning and supply chain optimisation tool, we have achieved our main goal: improving service levels and product availability to ensure the best possible customer experience. Moreover, Slimstock has consistently exceeded our expectations over the year and continues to provide supply chain expertise and innovative solutions.”
Simon Verhille | Supply Manager | LMC
Project results:
- 80% reduction in backorders
- Increased reliability
- Improved process stability and simplicity
Leaner inventory for greater efficiency
Thanks to Slim4, LMC can better manage delivery commitments to its customers. By optimising stock levels, the company can ensure that the right items are available in the right quantities at the right time.
In fact, availability increased sharply just a few months after Slimstock’s platform was deployed. This led to an increase in sales and a reduction in the number of backorders. Furthermore, logistics costs have also been reduced.
“By adopting a more intelligent approach to supply chain planning, our costs have fallen without affecting our service rate, which has also increased while minimising stock shortages. Thanks to the reduction in the number of backorders, we work much more efficiently in the warehouse,” says Simon Verhille.
A more secure ERP transformation
Since the 90s, LMC has been using an ultra-customised ERP system that had become increasingly difficult to develop around evolving business requirements. Consequently, the company opted to transition to a more suitable ERP solution.
“One of the advantages of Slim4 is its ability to integrate with any ERP. Our choice of new ERP was therefore not limited by Slimstock, which allowed us to choose a solution suited to our company without worrying about Slim4 compatibility,” states Simon Verhille.
“With Slimstock, we integrated 2 years of historical data in our new ERP, thereby providing security for sales and other supply data. This greatly simplifies the procedure for transferring data from one ERP to another. The data is stored within Slimstock’s platform, so there’s no loss if something unexpected happens during the transfer. We had already developed our procurement processes with our current system, meaning the change of ERP was an evolution rather than a revolution. Procurement staff will be able to continue working uninterrupted in Slim4, securing their activity and adapting only to the new ERP,” stresses Simon Verhille.
An easy-to-use tool
For years, Slimstock has supported LMC’s growth, with a simple, easy-to-use navigation tool that is constantly evolving. New challenges have arisen, such as growth in the workforce, technological advances, and new disruptions in the market.
“Slimstock has helped us to overcome the various challenges we have faced over the years. With the arrival of Slismtock’s latest technological advancements, we are able to meet the new challenges around remote working (COVID experience, teleworking, etc.). One of our objectives, for example, was to move towards collaborative working. Communication between teams has been improved, which has had a very positive effect on exchanges between Sales and Purchasing and led to better working relationships. What’s more, Slim4’s new interface is more dynamic, easier to use, and adaptable to our day-to-day work,” adds Simon Verhille.