V Net is a well-established provider of inventory management systems for businesses. Their inventory suite offers cutting-edge artificial intelligence combined with decades of practical retail supply chain management expertise, which has helped them gain market traction.
However, the suite lacked demand and scenario planning capabilities for forecasting inventory levels in unique scenarios, such as unexpected supply chain disruptions, seasonality, and changing consumer preferences and trends. This gap created pressure from competitors targeting V Net's customer base.
To address these challenges, V Net partnered with Propel to develop and integrate advanced demand and scenario planning functionality into their inventory solution to stay ahead of competitors and defend their market share.
Challenges
V Net set an ambitious goal to release the functionality in the first half of 2023 to maintain their competitive advantage. The demand planning software was expected to be the first client-facing module, which meant that V Net needed to improve its product design and usability. The software was previously operated only by specialist V Net staff, which limited its scalability. To enable clients to use the software directly, V Net focused on developing modern information architecture and design patterns that could be applied to legacy systems in the future.
Additionally, V Net had a challenge with the product architecture. The current monolithic code base might not be suitable for the future state architecture. With evolving technical leadership, it was important to determine the optimal approach for the future.
Solution
To address these challenges, Propel conducted a holistic review of V Net and validated customer needs through the development of prototype designs. Propel determined the optimal solution for scale and performance with a focus on driving down risk and solving client pain points. They developed a product strategy that aligned the organisation's technology roadmap and provided clear direction to V Net staff.
Outcome
Overall, V Net's partnership with Propel has enabled them to leverage new technology, strengthen their market position, and fend off competition. With the demand and scenario planning functionality provided by Propel, V Net is able to forecast inventory levels in unique scenarios, providing clients with a more dynamic and scalable inventory management solution tailored to their specific needs. This has resulted in increased demand for V Net's services and strengthened their reputation as a leader in inventory management.
