The Inventory Paradox
A global electronics distributor faced a classic problem: they had too much stock of the wrong items (tying up capital in storage fees) and too little stock of the best-sellers (losing revenue).
With four warehouses across the US and Europe, their logistics managers were operating in isolation. One warehouse in Texas would be sold out of Product A, while the German warehouse had 5,000 units gathering dust. There was no visibility to transfer stock efficiently.
The Technical Hurdle
- Legacy Systems: The warehouses ran on an old AS400 system that exported ugly flat files.
- No Forecasting: Restocking was done based on "gut feeling" rather than historical velocity.
The VisualizExpert Solution: Tableau + SQL
We chose Tableau for this project because of its superior ability to handle large datasets and complex geographic mapping.
1. Data Cleaning & Blending
We built a middleware layer using SQL to ingest the daily flat files. We cleaned the data, standardizing SKU numbers that had varied across regions over the years.
2. The "Throughput Velocity" Metric
We didn't just show "Current Stock." We calculated a custom metric called Days Sales of Inventory (DSI) at a granular SKU level.
Formula: (Current Stock / Avg Daily Sales over last 30 days).
If DSI dropped below 14 days, the dashboard triggered a "Critical Low Stock" alert.
3. Interactive "What-If" Analysis
We utilized Tableau Parameters to give the Operations Director a simulation tool. They could ask questions like: "If demand for Laptops increases by 20% next month, which warehouses will break?"
The Dashboard in Action
The final dashboard featured a central geographic map. The bubbles (warehouses) changed size based on total inventory value and color based on "Health Score."
Red meant a warehouse was at risk of stockouts. Green meant optimal. A manager could click a Red bubble, see exactly which 5 items were causing the risk, and instantly issue a transfer order from a Green warehouse.
Results
Within 3 months of implementation, the client realized significant efficiency gains:
- 15% Increase in Throughput: By having the right stock in the right place.
- $200k Saved in Storage Fees: By liquidating "Zombie Stock" that had been identified by our age-analysis report.
- Reduced Expedited Shipping: Fewer emergency overnight shipments were needed because stock was predicted accurately.