Situation

Western Forms manufactures aluminum concrete forms for cast-in-place concrete walls. The forms are used in more than 55 countries for building concrete foundations, concrete housing (low to high-rise structures), commercial concrete projects, and a wide variety of precast concrete applications.

Challenge

In a tumultuous raw material environment (aluminum, steel, and form components), supply chain leadership struggled to get a clear picture of how fluctuating demand impacted inventory management and cash flow.

Action

01 | Connected ERP system and local OneDrive to BUCS proprietary FP&A platform.

02 | BUCS delivered near-real time backlog reporting for accounting and manufacturing staff to manage vendor and customer relationships effectively.

03 | BUCS built demand and manufacturing planning master trends, including sales orders, purchase orders, stock orders, and manufacturing orders to capture the true state of how demand was being met at all stages.

04 | BUCS provided safety stock reporting for supply chain staff to understand what vendors, materials, and customers were at risk. The reporting incorporated supplier and material lead times, warnings when safety stock risk thresholds were met based on historical/present/projected demand, and more.

Results

With improved reporting, Western Forms increased on-time complete orders by 15% and decreased aged/stale inventory due to improved purchasing quantity and lead time accuracy by 30%.

“When our demand declined, we were able to slow purchasing and effectively manage our inventory as well as maintain a healthy cash flow because the BUCS reporting helped us see our true demand.”

Carlos Cardona, Operations & Procurement Director Western Forms