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Sustainable increase in efficiency in supply chain management
S&OP process introduced at Nölken Hygiene Products
Nölken Hygiene Products enhanced its supply chain management with valantic by implementing an S&OP process. Improved planning processes and structured demand and production planning significantly increased efficiency. Supported by transparent warehouse and cost control, substantial savings were achieved.
About the company
Nölken Hygiene Products is a private label manufacturer of wet wipes with a turnover of over 80 million euros and more than 400 employees. Together with valantic, the company optimized its supply chain management. The core of the collaboration was the introduction of a monthly Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process. As a result, planning stability, cost efficiency and cross-divisional collaboration were improved and significant savings and sustainable process improvements were achieved.
The project
The challenge
Nölken Hygiene Products did not have complete cross-functional collaboration between the relevant departments (procurement, sales, logistics, controlling and production). In addition, rudimentary and inaccurate planning processes were causing a lot of time and inefficiencies in the supply chain.
Consulting approach
1. Introduction of a monthly S&OP process:
- Regular S&OP meetings for structured demand and production planning
- Ensuring cross-functional collaboration between all relevant areas
2. Improvement of planning stability and forecast accuarcy:
- Identification and training on forecasting errors (e.g. MAPE, tracking signal)
- Continuous improvement of forecast quality through monitoring and feedback processes
3. Reduction of external warehousing costs and optimization of inventory levels:
- Use of internal storage space to reduce external storage costs
- Transparency of free storage capacity to optimize stock levels and ranges of coverage
- Reduction of old stock and items with high storage ranges
4. Increase in production performance and flexibility:
- Calculation and implementation of cost-optimized batch sizes, taking into account relevant influencing factors
- Introduction of production reporting to identify disruption and set-up costs
5. Optimization of product costs:
- Competitor and supplier analysis to identify potential savings in the use of raw materials
6. Enhancement of profitability and reduction of planning process complexity:
- Optimization of contribution margin accounting through targeted allocation of variable costs
- Review and adjustment of the product range structure for sustainable cost optimization
Solution and customer benefits
By introducing a structured S&OP process, Nölken Hygiene Products achieved noticeable improvements along the entire value chain. More stable planning enabled leaner warehouse structures, making better use of internal space and reducing external capacities. At the same time, production was made more flexible and less disruptive thanks to more accurate demand forecasts, which increased overall operational efficiency.
Conclusion
The switch to an integrated planning process sustainably strengthened the supply chain’s management capability. Reduced inventories, more efficient processes and higher forecasting quality created the basis for a future-oriented approach and noticeably improved the overall economic situation.
Your Contact
Dr. Bernhard Höveler
Partner & Managing Director
valantic Supply Chain & Procurement Consulting