We had the opportunity to speak with Craig Schilling, Director of SupplySight^™, about R.S. Hughes’ innovative inventory management program, how it stands out in the industry and his advice for leaders seeking to improve their company’s inventory management processes.

Q: What is SupplySight^™, and what inventory management challenges does it resolve for customers?

A: SupplySight^™ is our inventory management program that relieves customers from the burden of supply organization, labeling, stock-level monitoring, purchasing and receiving material and stocking shelves—our SupplySight^™ specialists handle all these responsibilities.

Supply chain disruptions are common, yet management still expects cost reduction and regular reporting from purchasing departments. SupplySight^™ addresses these challenges head-on by giving customers complete visibility on usage, orders and trends through a 24/7 reporting suite. They can count on accurate, reliable data to help them make planning decisions and control cash flow.

Most of our customers run successful businesses, and their supply chain has solid systems in place. Our aim with SupplySight^™ is to enhance their processes to increase supply chain efficiency and help save them money.

Q: How does SupplySight^™ leverage technology to enhance inventory management processes?

A: Our mobile app and QR codes make counting, tracking minimum and maximum levels and ordering supplies simple. Plus, intelligent automation helps customers maintain ideal stock levels and mitigates over- and under-ordering.

We also have a reporting suite that gives customers full visibility on budget allocation, trends to pay attention to and more. Vending solutions through our partner, Cribmaster, have taken reporting to a new level by enabling customers to see supply usage at the employee level, which lowers the risk of missing stock. They continue to add to their product offerings and improve data output.

Similarly, our SupplySight^™ team constantly evolves our reporting and adds features based on customer feedback. Over the years, we’ve heard that customers want simplicity and visibility, so we’ve developed our solution to feel like a true concierge experience. Sometimes, they want us to integrate directly with their enterprise resource planning platform (ERP), and we have been able to accommodate most of those requests with electronic data exchange so that they can view the data we provide directly in their internal ERP.

Q: What sets SupplySight^™ apart from other inventory management solutions in the market?

A: Our end-to-end process is quite unique in the vendor-managed inventory space. The discovery phase is the most critical step because we consider what our prospective customers need to craft a personalized proposal. As I mentioned earlier, most of the teams we work with do not have broken supply chain systems—they just need some enhancements.

Competitors to SupplySight^™ tend to sell out-of-the-box programs that implement unnecessary features, equipment and costs. We don’t do that—we aim to tailor a plan to customers’ needs, improving efficiency and increasing cost savings.

When it comes to the implementation stage, preparation and configuration are done at our locations so that all of the work is completed before the go-live date. This gives our customers the benefit of minimal disruption to their daily operations.

For example, with inventory management programs, we label shelving, cabinets and bins ahead of time. We also set minimum and maximum inventory levels and prepare lists. Ahead of the initial count, we place our customers’ inventory in the bins or cabinets we’ve prepared. This ensures our customers have complete and accurate visibility of their stock levels from day one.

Q: What does “best-in-class” customer service mean with SupplySight^™?

A: We don’t use that term lightly. Our SupplySight^™ specialists are an extension of customers’ teams. They are onsite with customers every week, sometimes multiple times a week, and are in direct communication with our broader support team. Customers have complete access to our team for open communication and collaboration—something competitors rarely provide.

Especially at the beginning of our relationship, we ensure customers receive as much training and explanation as they desire. Our dedicated specialists make this possible and are there to support them along the way.

Reporting and quarterly business reviews inspire meaningful dialogue as well. Specialists look holistically at customers’ businesses, providing data-backed insights and tailored optimizations to adjust their inventory management plan continually.

Q: What advice do you have for leaders looking to improve their company’s inventory management and are evaluating several different solutions in the market?

A: I would tell them to take a step back and first look at what is working well. Usually, there is no need to overhaul their current processes and build a new supply chain system from scratch.

If you’re considering SupplySight^™, allow our team to show you some of the tools we offer and how those tools can enhance your processes. After all, managing inventory is exactly what we do as a company and we’re experts at it.

By going through the discovery phase, our team can almost always offer easily implemented features to alleviate stress, hours and effort in any supply chain process. Our goals are aligned to your goals, which often include reducing waste, ensuring supplies never run out, keeping capital available and avoiding overspend.

Connect with a local SupplySight^™ specialist today to learn more.