Stabilizing MRP for a Hardware & Equipment Brand
Subject Area: Supply Chain Planning & MRP
Industry: Hardware / Tech Equipment
The Problem
A growing hardware brand was battling constant inventory volatility. Their MRP configuration was inconsistent, planning rules contradicting one another, and safety stock levels were applied unevenly across SKUs.
The team couldn’t rely on forecasts, runout dates were inaccurate, and subassemblies weren’t being planned in sync with finished goods.
Stockouts, overbuys, and weekly fire drills became the norm—eroding confidence in the entire planning process.
The company needed a stable, trustworthy planning model that reflected how their operation actually worked.
What We Did
Silverpeak rebuilt the planning foundation from the ground up.
Key improvements included:
Cleaning and correcting the MRP setup, including planning parameters, min/max rules, and procurement types.
Aligning demand inputs across forecasts, sales orders, and internal builds to eliminate conflicting signals.
Developing a simplified, accurate runout model that matched real lead times, throughput, and supplier variability.
Introducing structured planning cadences with weekly visibility into subassemblies, constraints, and bottlenecks.
Improving data hygiene, BOM accuracy, and planning logic so finished goods and subassemblies were synchronized.
Creating dashboards and clear reporting views so planners, buyers, and leadership all operated from the same source of truth.
The Result
Once the planning engine was repaired and standardized, performance shifted quickly:
Stockouts decreased substantially, reducing the impact to sales and service.
Overbuys were minimized, cutting unnecessary inventory spend and freeing cash.
Runout dates and planning signals became accurate, giving confidence back to the team.
Planning cadence became consistent and predictable—replacing emergency reactions with proactive decision-making.
Silverpeak turned a reactive, unreliable MRP environment into a stable, data-driven planning system the company could finally trust.
