CASE STUDY
How Intelligent Automation Solved Village Gourmet’s Stockout Challenges and Reduced Run-Out Risk
Village Gourmet brings together and invests in specialty producers of fine meat and snacking options to help America eat better. With a dedication to quality, Village Gourmet supports its specialty food brands with the resources they need to grow operations and bring their products to consumers across the country. When Village Gourmet struggled to manage the complexity of their supply chain and faced frequent stockouts, they turned to Kavida for help.
Industry
Food
Manufacturer size
201 - 500
Location
New York, NY
Website
The Challenges
Village Gourmet faced significant challenges in managing inventory due to their limited ability to process and analyze multiple data streams in their decision-making process, leaving them prone to frequent stockout risks.
- Siloed ERP Capabilities with Limited Data Integration
Village Gourmet’s ERP system had very basic capabilities, preventing the team from cross-referencing key data streams like demand forecasts, inventory levels, and supplier lead times. Extracting and analyzing data required significant time and costly vendor support, making it nearly impossible for the team to plan effectively for new orders and address stockout risks. - Managing 1000s of SKUs with Frequent Stockout & Runout Risks
Managing thousands of raw material items, each with 5-10 SKUs and high variability in lead times and shelf lives—from a few days for fresh meat to several months for seasonings—became increasingly difficult. This complexity, combined with poor data integration, made it challenging to reduce run-out risk. - Manual, Error-Prone Workflows
The inability to assimilate multiple data streams meant the team had to manually export data from their ERP and build Excel reports to make decisions. This labor-intensive process was prone to errors, leaving the team with little time for strategic tasks. - Complex Supplier Follow-Up Process
Village Gourmet had a complex supplier follow-up process since suppliers were followed up based on the lead time of the product. The team manually tracked these follow-ups, which often led to errors and inaccuracies. This manual method increased the risk of delayed orders and disrupted production schedules, further complicating inventory management.
“Previously we had to manually track the stock level of thousands of SKUs which resulted in us placing late orders with suppliers. With Kavida we get automated alerts on keys stock risks and what new orders we need to place”
Mark Fawcett
Business Intelligence Manager
“Previously we had to manually track the stock level of thousands of SKUs which resulted in us placing late orders with suppliers. With Kavida we get automated alerts on keys stock risks and what new orders we need to place”
Mark Fawcett
Business Intelligence Manager
Solution
Village Gourmet needed a solution to intelligently analyse various data streams for smarter decision-making. By implementing intelligent stockout reports, they were able to combine multiple data sources, helping their team generate optimal order recommendations and reduce run-out risks
- Consolidation of Critical Data Streams For Best Ordering Policies
Village Gourmet is now able to automate consolidating critical data streams, including demand forecasts, current inventory levels, bills of material, and supplier lead times. This approach allows their team to make more informed decisions with precise, data-driven new order policies. - Intelligent Stockout Reports & Real-Time Reports
The intelligent stockout reports analyse stockout risks for Village Gourmet up to two months in advance. These insights help the team stay ahead of potential stockouts and keep production schedules on track. - Proactive Risk & Supplier Management Across 30,000 SKUs
Village Gourmet now benefits from enhanced risk detection capabilities, allowing them to proactively manage external risks that could impact both their business units and suppliers. - Automated Supplier Follow-Ups Based on Lead Times
By setting up tailored automations for each supplier, Village Gourmet receives timely status updates, order confirmations, and missing documents, ensuring their team stays ahead of any critical tasks. With this system in place, Village Gourmet can now ensure business continuity and focus more on strategic decision-making.
VG’s ERP Transformation Drives Intelligent New Order Reporting
Platform usage
- £X M in order value managed on the platform.
- Managed X order lines
- X automated communications and responses.
- Received X documents
- X Copilot queries.
Productivity
- X automated processes [Process A, Process B etc ]
- X procurement hours saved due to automation
Visibility
- X order lines with end-to-end visibility
- X order risk alerts
- X shipments tracked
Business value
- £X time value saved
- £X reduced cost of manufacturing downtime
- £X reduced cost of risk and delays
Cognitive ERP Transformation Drives Intelligent New Order Reporting
