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Imperial has been awarded the contract to implement an optimal handset demand, supply planning and balancing process that is aligned to best practices for mobile telecommunications network provider, MTN, in South Africa. The scoping phase of the contract commenced at the end of 2020 and full implementation is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2021.
Imperial will utilise One Network's NEO Platform, a cloud-based supply chain planning and execution platform that enables collaborative demand, supply and logistics management. The platform manages the end-to-end supply chain in real time, from consumers and retailers to raw material suppliers. One Network's Control Tower solution is ranked a leader by both Gartner and Nucleus Research, and Imperial is the African partner for implementation, hosting and re-selling of the platform.
The Control Tower Solution for Retail will include demand and supply balancing, demand planning, inventory planning, demand forecasting, suggested store ordering, order management, replenishment planning, and last-minute allocation – the system autonomously reallocates short supply to minimise lost sales and maximise customer service. It will also include a command-and-control dashboard featuring real-time data, as well as customisable and interactive charts and reports.
"Creating and implementing this solution for MTN in South Africa aims to improve operational efficiency by driving improved product availability and customer service whilst reducing excess inventory and product obsolescence," says Cobus Rossouw, Executive Vice President: Digital & IT at Imperial. "Providing a robust, autonomous, analytical capability to manage handset demand and supply means better forecasting and a more comprehensive view of flow of stock through the value chain. The platform drives MTN's desire to focus on proactive exception management to maximise performance."
"We are excited to partner with Imperial on this project," says Philip Besiimire, Chief Regions, Sales and Distribution Officer: MTN, South Africa. "We believe that collaborative demand and supply planning of our handset inventory for retail operations will help us accurately forecast for and manage stock-outs, seasonal demand and other exceptions, thus benefiting our retail stores, channel partners and other parts of our supply chain. This will enable us to provide the best customer service with the optimal amount of inventory going forward."
