Meet Autopilot, our advanced demand forecasting and order management system. Stock management with Autopilot ensures you always have the right amounts of stock while minimising costs, using a three-step cycle: plan, order, mitigate.

Let us introduce you to how this works, in detail.

Plan

What service level would you like to offer your customers? You can set different service levels for different product groups. Prioritise key profit or reliability drivers, and deprioritise the also-rans. Set these values first. Then, Autopilot plans your orders and expected cash flow for the coming months in advance.

Getting ready to order: demand and cost forecast

The first step is to forecast demand for each product. Autopilot recognises seasonal cycles and combines them with other sales patterns to produce a long and comprehensive demand forecast. This is necessary because it is best to order according to the forecasted demand at the time when the product will arrive and is ready to sell. Especially when lead times are long it would be wrong to order according to current demand. For example, if you have to order a seasonal item three months ahead for the winter, then the order should be according to your usual winter sales, not according to your current off-season sales.

The forecast remains flexible and allows for manual adjustments. Customers won or lost, market shifts — add your own insights as needed. Autopilot will seamlessly integrate them into the forecasts.

Expect the unexpected

There is always an element of unpredictability in sales — a sudden surge, a new customer, or a lost one. Maintaining safety stock in addition to expected demand ensures a continuous supply at all times.

Autopilot measures the degree of unpredictability for each product, and adds the right amount of safety stock for each. The safety stock is less when the sales are easily predictable, and more if sales are changeable.

Cost forecast

Managing cash flow is crucial. Autopilot therefore forecasts ordering expenses a year in advance, based on the payment terms of your suppliers.

Instantly view upcoming monthly payments and anticipate potential cost surges. For greater control, drill down into individual payments to identify specific cost drivers.

Finding Affordable Service Levels

Autopilot provides immediate feedback on the financial implications of your service level choices. Adjust service levels using simple sliders until you confidently align your desired targets with your monthly budget constraints. With this plan in place, Autopilot strategically allocates your budget across products, maximising business efficiency.

Order

Once your planning is complete, Autopilot provides you with a practical daily shopping list. According to your preferred ordering schedules — whether weekly, monthly, or quarterly — Autopilot ensures timely replenishment aligned with your inventory strategy.

Mitigate

The order list is flexible and updated daily. Autopilot continuously monitors unexpected changes in demand and supply.

• Sudden shifts in customer demand cause immediate adjustments to order recommendations, and Autopilot suggests infill orders when necessary.

• Autopilot also tracks overdue orders and helps you assess supplier reliability based on historical data. If a supplier repeatedly underperforms, Autopilot compensates by holding additional safety stock.

Finally, Autopilot knows its own limits. When it is not possible to solve a situation using your supplier, Autopilot will let you know well in advance. This gives you time to renegotiate faster delivery or turn to alternative suppliers. Learn more about how Autopilot handles emergencies in a separate article.

Your trusted inventory management

By integrating planning, ordering, and mitigation, Autopilot ensures you consistently maintain optimal inventory levels. With intelligent forecasting, budget management, and proactive exception handling, Autopilot empowers your business to run smoothly and cost-effectively. Once you have Autopilot, how will you spend your newly gained free time?