CUSTOMER SUCCESS
ERP: Oracle
GAINS Solutions
inventory optimization replenishment planning demand planning & forecasting production planning27%
reduction
in inventory
23%
reduction in operating costs
99%
line item fill rate
“I was amazed that after changing our inventory and customer service management over to GAINS, we not only consistently hit our 99% line item fill rate service targets but were able to achieve this with 27% less inventory and an operating cost reduction of 23%. It was like discovering a whole new source of profit for the company. GAINSystems’ quick implementation process enabled us to achieve corporate-wide implementation in about 10 weeks, so we were tracking profit improvements by our third month.”
Vice President of Logistics
Stuller has come a long way since 1970, when Matthew Stuller first began providing local jewelers with findings (components) on a friendly, timely basis. Today, Stuller is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of fine jewelry-related products, providing more than 300,000 different items to the trade. Stuller provides just-in-time delivery to its account base of more than 50,000 jewelers throughout North America and the world. Stuller has been able to ensure a 99% line item fill rate by managing their operations with GAINS’ inventory planning and optimization capabilities.
Through its innovative manufacturing and distribution techniques, Stuller has become known as the premier just-in-time supplier to the industry. The company operates in nearly 200,000 square feet of manufacturing and administrative facilities at its headquarters in Lafayette, Louisiana, with additional manufacturing facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee. To improve its sourcing of diamonds and colored stones, Stuller has established buying offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, Bangkok, Thailand and a cooperative agreement in Bombay, India.
Stuller has also opened Jewelry Service Centers in Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Toronto to serve retail jewelers in those major metropolitan areas. To support this dynamic distribution network, they implemented GAINS throughout the company. “The implementation of GAINS was a quick and easy process.” states Stuller’s Vice President of Logistics, “It took about 10 weeks using the implementation templates provided by GAINSystems. By our third month we were tracking profit improvements to our bottom line.”
“Our industry reputation is based on next day delivery of virtually everything needed to supply your local jeweler. Being in stock is not just a financial decision, but a strategic one in our jewelry supply chain. ‘We carry the inventory so you don’t have to’ is more than a slogan — it’s who we are. Prior to installing GAINS, we tried to keep this promise through a system that generated large surpluses of slow moving items, without preventing high stock outs on the very best sellers. We had 50% of our inventory supporting the last 10% of sales. GAINS is making it easier to keep the promise to our customers by keeping its promise to us. This morning, we were 99.5% in stock and maintained an average of 98.5% during our peak holiday season. We are also learning that it is not necessary to maintain the huge safety stocks that resulted from our old ERP based system.”
“Our business and jewelry supply chain is a very dynamic business that is driven by holidays and seasonal buying trends. One of the most amazing things is the responsiveness of the GAINS planning tools to automatically identify changes in our business,” explains the Executive Director of Manufactured Products. “Due to some product changes we had made, there was a significant change in demand, causing our service levels to drop to a low of 96% during our peak demand period. However, GAINS was so responsive that we only remained below 99% for 6 weeks and were then back on track with no unusual expediting. Prior to GAINS, it would have taken us at least 12 weeks to make a recovery like that.”
