AutoPower has introduced a new business intelligence tool, Inventory Analysis.
The company says Inventory Analysis follows its March 2019 introduction of Sales Analysis and is just the second of what AutoPower says will ultimately include at least six AutoPower BI solutions. The company says each business intelligence solution is designed to operate with daily interface to a customer’s database residing in the AutoPower System, the company’s flagship distributor management system (DMS) that is purpose-built for the heavy-duty aftermarket.
“Inventory is the single largest asset for heavy-duty aftermarket distributors, and tracking, analyzing and managing that asset is a challenge that has huge bottom-line implications,” says Mike Mallory, president, AutoPower. “Industry experts agree that, among other problems, the lack of up-to-the minute, actionable inventory information can lead distributors to understock, which leads to missed sales and lost customers. Or, it can result in overstocking, which ties up capital unnecessarily and increases warehousing costs.”
He says AutoPowerBI Inventory Analysis demystifies this by providing a clearer and more timely command over key inventory data, which empowers faster, smarter business decisions that lowers costs and yields greater profitability. Tampa-based Fleet Products, an early user of the Inventory Analysis solution, appreciates the increased visibility and automation it offers.
“It can alert us to problems that would otherwise go undetected until they become much bigger problems,” says Robert Langley, operations leader. “Mistakes like over orders, or pricing a thousand feet of hose by the roll instead of by the foot.”
Langley adds that Inventory Analysis also is useful in managing special orders and frozen (Min Max) order points. Additionally, AutoPower’s Director of E-Business Solutions and architect of AutoPowerBI, Ross Baldwin, says any single- or multi-branch organization using the AutoPower system can begin using the Inventory Analysis capabilities within hours, with no training required.
“We prove that a business intelligence and advanced reporting doesn’t have to be complex or costly,” he says. “This tool is a game changer for owners and managers. They will feel relief from the mountains of paper and spreadsheets used to make inventory decisions. They will be able to stop waiting on staff to unlock important trends and gain effective inventory control that brings with it a new competitive edge.”
Once the tool is “activated,” the company says any AutoPower customer can instantly gain valuable insights into important aspects of inventory management and control.
AutoPower adds some key reports include:
- Inventory Value Overview – Bring to life overall average and replacement values, demands ranked by vendor and branch locations.
- Excess Inventory Value Drilldown – Quickly finds excess inventory based on value, and displays QoH,QoO and Qty available contrasted with sales.
- Inventory Stock Review – Dead Stock will smack you in the face visually with this report and it can be easily sliced by branch, vendor, part number and min max tags.
- Inventory Turns – A traditional inventory measure presented with new ranking insights at branch, vendor and part numbers levels.
- Min Max Analysis – Easily provides last sale date, last received date by part number displaying an analysis of min and max targets vs QoH and the 12 mth average sell rate.
Currently, AutoPowerBI is pioneering business intelligence and advanced reporting solutions for the heavy-duty aftermarket distributor as an integrated function. According to Baldwin, additional solutions for AutoPowerBI are scheduled for release over the course of 2019 and 2020. These will include; Accounts Receivable Analysis, Accounts Payable Analysis, Financial Analysis and Shop & Rebuild Service Analysis.
The company adds Demos of both the Inventory Analysis solution and the Sales Analysis solution can be viewed at www.autopowerbi.com.
