40%
Increase in 1-day shipments
20%
Reduction in costs
5000+
Optimized products
Improved
Global retail efficiency
The challenge
Enhanced inventory and fulfillments for faster, cost-effective deliveries
One of the largest U.S. sporting goods companies faced challenges in understanding and optimizing its inventory placement across a complex retail fulfillments network. As the company expanded its Buy Online, Pick Up In Store (BOPIS) and e-commerce orders, the trade-offs between order splits, increased transit times, and higher fulfillments costs became more pronounced. With a focus on customer satisfaction and operational efficiency, the retailer sought Fractal's expertise to enhance inventory optimization and improve delivery speed while reducing fulfillment costs.
Key challenges
Complex inventory placement across a vast network
Increased order-splits and higher transit times
Rising fulfillment costs for BOPIS and e-commerce orders
Need to balance customer satisfaction with operational efficiency
The solution
Transforming retail fulfilment with smart inventory placement
Optimizing fulfillment network
Prioritized order patterns
Identified key centers
Optimized inventory placement
Dynamic inventory and allocation
Reduced transit time and costs
SKU-level guidance
Real-time allocation
Implementation approach
1
Cloud infrastructure
Built on GCP with Big Query
US-wide inventory recommendations
Scalable optimization
2
Optimization techniques
Used genetic algorithms and linear programming
Leveraged CPLEX, Gurobi, and Llamasoft
Optimized store-SKU inventory
3
Business impact
Set inventory guidance
Improved service and fulfillment
Enabled fast growth
The impact
Driving speed, efficiency, and cost reduction in retail fulfilment
Enhanced speed and reduced costs
40% increase in 1-day shipments
20% cost reduction
99% of deliveries within 1-2 days
Optimized inventory management
Managed 5,000+ products
Streamlined inventory for 900 customers
Automated recommendations
Transformative solution for fulfilment
Real-time insights via cloud
Integrated data sources
Automated order management
Looking ahead
Data integration expansion
Expand real-time data integration
Efficiency enhancement
Enhance automation for greater efficiency
Continuous innovation
Foster continuous innovation in order management
