• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Seagate Strives to Slash Inventory

Seagate Strives to Slash Inventory

April 25, 2013
SupplyChainBrain

Robbleloth's group at Seagate is responsible for taking core disk drives and transforming them into retail kits. In moving product from factories to the customer, the company relied on new fulfillment and supply strategies to sharply reduce inventory.

It began with the supply side. Seagate identified a three-week process - one week to move drives from factories to joint design manufacturers (JDMs), one to build product into finished goods and retail kits, and one to move the finished goods into locations for shipment. In scrutinizing the process, however, it was surprised to discover that inventory was actually moving for just three days of that cycle, and sitting around for the remaining 18. So it began targeting product at rest, transitioning from a three-week planning process to daily supply execution. In the end, it shrank the process down to just three days - one for movements from the factory to JDMs, one for finished-goods transformation and the third for moving to a shippable location.

The project wasn't triggered by a significant increase in inventory. "We just wanted to get a focus on our retail supply chain," says Robbleloth, "and get a cross-functional team together."

In the process, Seagate discovered "a lot of skeletons in our closet" - problems that were interfering with the momentum of inventory.  Dealing with those issues involved a great deal of change management. Robbleloth says it was vital to show that inventory reductions could have a dramatic impact on the company's balance sheet. "The more millions in savings you [identify], the more people are willing to change," he says. Seagate ended up reducing inventory by 50 percent in the first stage of the initiative.

Among the lessons learned along the way was to "jump in faster," Robbleloth says. The nine months spent on cross-functional design could have been compressed to between three and six months. "Jump in and work on the process later," he advises. "It's never complete."

To view video in its entirety, click here


Keywords: supply chain, supply chain management, high-tech supply chain, inventory management, inventory control, global logistics, logistics management, supply chain planning, retail supply chain

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Product Lifecycle Management Sales & Operations Planning Forecasting & Demand Planning Global Trade Management Inventory Planning/ Optimization Supply Chain Planning & Optimization Supply Chain Visibility Technology Order Fulfillment Consumer Packaged Goods High-Tech/Electronics Retail
KEYWORDS consumer packaged goods Forecasting & Demand Planning Global Logistics Global Trade Management high-tech supply chain High-Tech/Electronics inventory control Inventory Management Inventory Planning/ Optimization logistics management order fulfillment Product Lifecycle Management Retail retail supply chain Sales & Operations Planning SC Planning & Optimization Scott Robbleloth supply chain Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management: High-Tech/Electronics Supply Chain Planning Supply Chain Visibility Technology
  • Related Articles

    Seagate Strives to Slash Inventory

    Supply Chain Transformation at Seagate

    An Innovative Approach to Inventory Forecasting

SupplyChainBrain

Berkshire Grey and Locus Robotics Join Forces to Offer Cross-Platform Robotic Automation

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • A MAN IN A SUIT SHAKES HANDS WITH A WOMAN IN A HARD HAT, NEXT TO A STACK OF CONTAINERS

    Three Procurement Technology Evolutions for 2023

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A GROUP OF WORKERS RANGED IN AN OFFICE, OF DIVERSE RACE, GENDER, AGE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY

    Podcast | The Supply Chain Workforce of the Future Is Already Here

    HR & Labor Management

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing