Digitizing Operations and Improving Efficiency at Whayn
Situation
Whayn, a medical products trader, had an established presence in the government, retail, and hospital sectors. The company faced significant challenges due to the manual management of their business. Despite dealing with a growing number of stock-keeping units (SKUs) each day, their processes were paper-based, slow, and highly variable due to numerous order types, supply conditions, and rate agreements. Adding to the complexity, whenever a retailer requested a new product, Whayn’s team had to manually source the item—a process that was both time-consuming and cumbersome. The company recognized that it was missing opportunities to expand its product offerings due to these inefficiencies.
Approach
In response to Whayn’s unique business requirements, we proposed a custom-designed business operating system tailored specifically to their operations. We aimed to implement this system in an agile manner, gradually integrating workflows to allow for easy adoption by Whayn’s employees. Our approach included an automated workflow for retailers to request new products with full specifications. The operations personnel could then send these requests to the empanelled suppliers automatically, streamlining the sourcing process. We also developed order punching capabilities for sales representatives and retailers. Our solution integrated an advanced inventory management system capable of predicting optimal stock levels, thereby improving inventory control and reducing the risk of stock-outs. Furthermore, we deployed a rate engine capable of managing complex rate agreements. This allowed for general rates, retailer-specific rates, hospital-specific rates, and supplier-specific rates for each SKU, facilitating dynamic pricing adjustments as needed.
Outcomes
The custom business operating system dramatically improved Whayn’s efficiency and speed of operations. The automated workflow for new product requests reduced manual work and significantly increased the speed at which these requests could be processed. As a result, Whayn was able to expand the variety of products they offered, better catering to retailer demands. The rate engine improved billing procedures, enhancing accuracy and easing the process of revenue recovery. In addition, the predictive analytics of the inventory management system improved stock control, reducing stock-outs, and ultimately improving customer service. In summary, the deployment of the custom business operating system transformed Whayn’s operations, making them more agile and responsive to their retailers’ needs, thereby contributing to their overall growth and profitability.