HIMPACT

HIMPACT, developed by Herlitz Inventory Management, is an inventory management system designed to optimize demand forecasting, replenishment, and order management processes for mid-size to large wholesale and retail businesses. According to the vendor, this solution caters to the needs of buyers, supply chain managers, inventory managers, operations managers, wholesale distributors, and retailers across various industries.

Key Features

Demand Forecasting: HIMPACT incorporates daily analytics to enhance buying decisions and improve forecast accuracy. It utilizes proprietary methods to segregate regular demand, lost sales, and promotion demand, resulting in more accurate forecasts. The system also provides insights into customer demand changes using actual sales order data through the Service and Lost Sales Analysis (SALSA).

Optimized Replenishment: HIMPACT dynamically adjusts order quantities for each SKU by considering multiple factors such as customer demand, vendor performance, and product economics. This feature aims to optimize inventory levels and customer service. Additionally, the system supports store, DC, and vendor-managed inventory replenishment in one application and offers various distribution methods including cross-dock, flow-through, and direct store delivery.

DC Replenishment: HIMPACT ensures a steady flow of products to distribution centers by integrating logistical and promotional data. This integration allows for accurate calculation of replenishment orders. The system supports store, DC, and vendor-managed inventory replenishment in one application and provides flexibility to manage different replenishment models, including cross-dock, flow-through, and vendor-to-DC.

Store Replenishment: HIMPACT supports the flow of products to retail stores by integrating promotions, planned orders, bookings, and hold-outs into regular replenishment orders. This feature enables effective store replenishment by supporting both bottom-up and top-down planning strategies. The system also includes store groups and store set functionality to manage assortments across multiple locations.

Order Policy Analysis: HIMPACT helps buyers make better buying decisions by considering costs and profits. It takes into account the cost structure, vendor product costs, and price bracket information to recommend optimal order quantities. It also analyzes the cost of ordering versus carrying costs and understands item bracket pricing, seasonality, and the cost of safety stock associated with brackets.

Order Management - Order Analysis: HIMPACT provides daily insights into inbound orders, customer demand, and inventory data. The system alerts buyers to potential problems with outstanding orders and offers actionable insights. This feature identifies overdue orders, out-of-stocks, decreases in safety stock, and overstocks for proactive management.

Promotions, Bookings, and Allocations: HIMPACT offers robust tools for promotional planning and execution. It supports both bottom-up and top-down planning strategies for promotions and new product roll-outs. This feature enables the creation and modification of profiles for the distribution of promotional demand. HIMPACT also tracks promotional lift, cannibalization, and provides insights for successful promotional execution.

Forward Buying: HIMPACT identifies and optimizes opportunities for forward buying. The system automatically generates optimal order quantities for each forward buying opportunity, taking into account short-term discounts, future price increases, and additional cash terms. Additionally, HIMPACT includes a simulation tool for scenario analysis and negotiation support for forward buying opportunities.