A specialist in meat processing and cured meats (bacon, sausage manufacturing, dry sausages, diced ham), the food processing company AUBRET has nearly 500 employees across 4 production units. In 2013, several members of the Scheduling team attended a supply chain training course led by EURODECISION. We met with Séverine Bauducel, Scheduling Manager, and her team to get their feedback on this session.

  • In 2013, the AUBRET team attended the new EURODECISION training course on “How to optimize your procurement for better inventory management?” What motivated you to participate?

Having completed the Demand Planner Certificate at Paris-Dauphine University, I was aware of inventory costs and the importance of transitioning our rather empirical approach to one based on mathematical methods. It therefore seemed worthwhile for my colleagues to become familiar with these concepts so they could subsequently quantify inventory levels by production code.

  • Over these two days, you explored various inventory management methods and learned forecasting techniques. Have these mathematical and statistical teachings enabled you to implement a management process suited to your business?

To date, one of my colleagues has already implemented inventory management processes for one product family. In just a few months, we observed that inventory had been cut in half!

  • Was there any element from the training that particularly stood out? If so, which one?

While at AUBRET, we aim for a stockout target close to 0. However, our reorder point calculations indicate that a slightly degraded service level can sometimes be preferable to overstocking. Until then, my team wasn’t really aware of the costs their activity could generate for the company, and this concept helped change their perspective.

  • Today, do you believe this training has enabled AUBRET to optimize its inventory management?

The mathematical concepts identified during training are highly useful for daily procurement optimization. When AUBRET decides to implement a more advanced information system than the one we currently use, my colleagues will already have the tools they need to put the appropriate management processes in place.