An agreement with Wolseley to extend order lead times has resulted in significant service improvements to the end customer and forecasting benefits for our plants.
A six-week lead time has been agreed for a core range of products and this has seen the OTIF (on time, in full) measure improve by more than 10% compared to products not covered by the agreement.
A high OTIF figure means the end customer – in this case, national housebuilders – is provided with the products they need to complete their developments and meet deadlines.
It also benefits our reputation and helps maintain positive relationships, whereas a poor OTIF figure could put the relationship under significant strain.
Customer Supply Chain Leader Colette Jones said: “We are always looking for ways in which we can improve our service to the customer and improve our ability to deliver against those commitments.
“As part of our close working relationship with Wolseley, we proposed a six-week lead time to improve OTIF which is high on their agenda.
"We have had very positive feedback since the introduction of the extended lead times.”
She added: “We are getting orders earlier for these products which has a positive impact on our forecast and for manufacturing in terms of planning, but also a positive impact on Wolseley’s availability to their customers.
“This is a six-week lead time on products, many of which we would normally supply within seven days.
“That enables us to achieve a stronger OTIF which gives our merchants and their end customers better availability.”