Reducing Waste Through Improved Inventory Management
The Challenge
A leading European nutrition company, part of a global pharmaceutical group, was facing recurring losses due to the expiration of high-value components—such as vitamin supplements and sports nutrition bars—within its warehouse. The volatility of demand and short shelf life of certain products made inventory management particularly challenging.
The Expectation
The client requested a solution that would help prevent waste without disrupting warehouse productivity. Specifically, they asked for a digital assistant that would limit its interaction with receiving operators to no more than three questions per purchase order—preserving the strategic balance between efficiency and profitability.
The Solution
Shelly deployed and trained a Digital Collaborator (DiCo) that integrated directly into the receiving process. Upon scanning a product’s ID (barcode, QR code, etc.), the DiCo was able to:
- Prompt the operator to input or scan the product’s manufacturing date, as required by the client’s supplier policy.
- Retrieve the product’s expiration date (DLUO) from the item ledger.
- Check current work orders that would consume the component.
- Assess existing stock levels.
- Analyze sales forecasts for products containing the component.
- Calculate the probability that the total stock—including the new delivery—would not be consumed before expiration.
Based on a risk threshold defined by the client’s leadership:
- If the risk of non-consumption was above the threshold, the DiCo instructed the operator: “Do not receive this container.” It then triggered internal alerts and blocked the transfer of ownership.
- If the risk was below the threshold, the DiCo confirmed: “Good to receive.” It notified relevant stakeholders, accepted the goods, and updated the ERP system accordingly.
The Result
With Shelly’s Digital Collaborator in place, the client significantly reduced inventory waste while maintaining operational efficiency—achieving a sustainable balance between productivity and profitability.
