Vision, the specialist maker of mounts, connectivity and audio products, is looking to counteract Brexit-led customs clearance delays on UK imports and exports by building high stock levels, with more than 100,000 items currently available. Following the end of the Brexit transition period, the company witnessed transfers between Europe and UK taking six weeks to clear customs.
“Although customs clearance times have improved, they still take around two weeks and likely to continue to be slow,” explained Vision managing director, Stuart Lockhart. “To counteract this, we are using sophisticated technology to anticipate demand.”
“We hold stock across warehouses in the UK and EU and move it in response to demand. Using a Microsoft Azure-based algorithm enables us to predict where stock will be needed and move it pre-emptively. If resellers require more stock than is showing on the system, it is likely we have plenty of stock to call on from other warehouses, so channel partners should check with us.”
Lockhart added that Vision uses LIFR (Line Item Fulfilment Rate) to measure its service levels. “Normally our LIFR is over 95%, meaning we’d have stock 95% of the time but even with the negative impact of Brexit, we were able to achieve 88% in February and expect that to improve going forward, thanks to our actions.”
