Jim Bell and Cory Baker are the lead planners at the Alliance, Ohio based company, Coastal Pet. Every day they are responsible for planning and adjusting the manufacturing and logistics for this multi-million-dollar supplier of pet products. Their 400,000 sf warehouse takes care of both the manufacturing and shipping operations. Their operation offers over 7,500 SKUs and growing. Jim and Cory’s goal at Coastal Pet is to optimize operations in order to maximize profits. Achieving this requires keeping inventory costs at a minimum, forecasting accurately and efficiently, and adjusting to solve problems that arise through daily operation. Jim and his team manage two forecasts. One from their clients who are responsible for mapping out their own forecast, the second is an internal forecast, generated through Avercast. By using both forecasts and running data through Avercast they can have a more efficient supply that helps minimize unnecessary costs.

Jim and his team process over 43,000 records through Avercast on a weekly basis. Because of their reliance on and trust in Avercast, they are able to focus on solving more specific problems. One they are taking on is adjusting how they fulfill JIT orders for internet sites. With 2-day and overnight shipping changing the way consumers buy products, Coastal Pet must respond with the stock ready to ship at a moments notice.

In an ever changing supply-chain world, there needs to be accurate forecasting. Jim uses Avercast because he trusts the data and can use it to adapt to changes in the market.

As a team, “If we are going to be responsible for fill rate, then we are going to do everything”. With this weight they need accurate information they can trust. They turn to Avercast for one central report of all their forecasts. By having this as a check on their system they can know how much product they will need and when to have them ready. They use the data generated in Avercast to make and inform all of the decisions in the company. They know that their entire business model depends on an accurate forecast of their future demand.