Changing shipments from fast but expensive aircraft to slow but cheap ships can be a matter of a few days. Financial and time savings are essential. “Behind everything is strategic work with numbers,” says Petr Jalůvka, CEO of DYNAMIC FUTURE. He describes the change in the logistics of deliveries to the customer, based on the example of Thermacut, which exports its products to America, among other places.

The company from Uherské Hradiště is dedicated to the production of technologies for cutting metal materials. It focuses on laser cutting and autogenous burning, while also offering its own product lines. It has been co-operating with DYNAMIC FUTURE for over 10 years, with one of the first projects being a logistics audit.

“The logistics audit also includes a review of the dispatch and distribution of products to the customer. At that time, it turned out that the company would like to move shipments from air transport to shipping for economic reasons. But that meant that it would take not just several days, but several weeks to deliver,” describes Petr Jalůvka.

The Audit the audit revealed that a customer in the USA was passing on enough information with the Czech Thermacut so that a relatively simple planning tool could be created. Petr Jalůvka assembled it within a few days, handed it over to the management of Thermacut, and they started to use it almost immediately.

“The American customer was very specific in that he sent forecasts of what he would sell, as well as all the stock levels of his warehouse and his sales figures. These are all numbers that, when planned well for production, make the whole process much clearer and simpler. For example, the customer received requests for a certain volume of the item to replenish his warehouse, with the proviso that they should arrive in the USA in a week. However, when we looked at the data from a different angle, we found that we could have read such information from it five weeks ago,” explains DYNAMIC FUTURE CEO.

In order for Thermacut to survive and deliver the required products on time, they had no choice but to operationally change production and use air transport. Thanks to the tool from DYNAMIC FUTURE, he was able to identify the future need for specific goods, and had enough time to plan it for production, packaging, and transport by ship.

 “Of course, we also addressed the possibility that the customer will request the item urgently. We have evaluated that air transport fits into the system as an extraordinary event, and does not disrupt it in any way,” adds Petr Jalůvka 

Gold lies beneath your feet

A similar example of a quick solution is a model for a Kroměříž company that orders components for its products from China. During the audit of sales and warehouse data, DYNAMIC FUTURE found that it was possible to work with them better and more efficiently. As Petr Jalůvka recalls, in one afternoon they found out, for example, that key items that arrive in a shipping container once every two months were not in stock for a few weeks at a Czech company. They delivered a solution that was able to compile the order in advance, so that they would not always have to compose it laboriously, and at the same time, they would never miss key items from stock

 “If I know that I sell the A-item well all year round, then I can have it in some container every two months. This means that I don’t have to keep it in such large amounts, and at the same time, I eliminate its lack in stock. This is because the container may be delayed. If I only had a supply for three months, I would still be missing a month,” explains the CEO.

The Model worked immediately, the company started working with it, without delay. They thereby got rid of operational and expensive processes and, thanks to strategic work with numbers, of course increased their final profit.

“Sometimes, gold lies underfoot, and a person in a hurry or during an operation is constantly stepping on it and looking for it somewhere else,” P. Jalůvka is convinced of that.

When asked how it is possible to strategically plan in times of pandemic or imminent war, nobody can predict the effects of such events, however, those who work strategically with numbers can evaluate the situation better and faster, and can prepare scenarios that are as painless as possible.