Costa Express and ToolsGroup Win European Supply Chain Excellence Award for Delivering "Staggering Results"

LONDON, Nov. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A Costa Express and ToolsGroup project that delivered "staggering results" within six months has won the "Technology" category award at the European Supply Chain Excellence Awards.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131112/NE15710LOGO)

The awards, which took place on 6 November, celebrate the highest standards of supply chain management and turn the spotlight on those organisations that are achieving them. The Technology award is given to projects where the use of technology has provided direct and quantifiable benefits to the supply chain.

Costa Express's winning entry, which centred on its implementation of ToolsGroup's SO99+ software, explained how the company transformed its ingredients supply chain to support its rapidly-expanding network of self-service coffee machines in airports, stations, garage forecourts and other locations.

The two organisations successfully achieved this transformation in just a few months, creating an approach that is now able to sustain Costa Express's expansion plans while improving customer service levels across more than 3,200 sites. Field stock held on site has been reduced by 20 percent and the company now experiences 50 percent fewer delivery refusals.

Costa Express previously relied on estimates generated manually using thousands of interlinked spreadsheets and average sales figures to drive replenishments to machines located at partner sites.

Setting up a dedicated supply chain team and using ToolsGroup's SO99+ software, the company introduced new demand planning, inventory optimisation and replenishment processes. Sales data received every four minutes from 3,200 machines is now used to identify trends, forecast demand and set appropriate levels of safety stock, automatically creating a schedule of deliveries to resupply each site without overstocking.

Costa Enterprises' Supply Chain Manager Chris Clowes said: "We are delighted to have won this award, particularly as the judges clearly recognised the hard work that went into making these challenging plans a reality. Our partner in this project, ToolsGroup, provided the technological solution that was crucial to changing how we use our data, and which has enabled us to become a more competitive and responsive business, which better services our customers' needs. It's great to be recognised for having a great supply chain, as well as great coffee."

Martin Woodward, MD of ToolsGroup UK, said: "We were very pleased to work with Costa Express's talented people, helping them to deliver the ambitious changes they were looking for within such a tight timescale. From our point of view, Chris and his team's professionalism and understanding of their business helped immeasurably to ensure the success of the project."

About ToolsGroup
ToolsGroup is an innovation partner for companies who want to achieve highly accurate forecasts, outstanding customer-service levels and less global inventory. An expert in "Powerfully Simple" supply chain planning, we offer software that analyses demand history across multiple dimensions so you can achieve the most reliable forecast and inventory targets for mastering demand volatility and delivering service level excellence. Our innovative and advanced technologies enable you to improve and automate your planning processes. Our solutions span key supply chain planning areas such as Demand Planning, Demand Sensing, Promotion Forecasting and Inventory Optimization. We have more than 250 customers worldwide and one of the highest customer retention rates in our industry. Our experience includes manufacturers, wholesale distributors and retailers in a wide range of demand and inventory driven industries

About Costa - The UK's favourite coffee shop

Costa is the UK's favourite coffee shop, having been awarded "Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain in the UK and Ireland" by Allegra Strategies for three years running (2010, 2011 & November 2012).

Winner of "Best Branded Coffee Chain in Europe" Allegra Strategies 2011 and 2012.

With over 1,600 coffee shops in the UK and more than 1,000 overseas, Costa is the fastest growing coffee shop business in the UK and the second largest coffee shop operator in the world.  Founded in London by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in 1971, Costa has become the UK's favourite coffee shop chain and has recently diversified into both the at-home and gourmet self-serve markets.

Just 1% of the world's production of coffee is good enough for us to choose from. Only the very best 100% RFA certified coffee available can go into creating the unique taste and aroma of our Mocha Italia blend.

Costa is committed to looking after coffee-growers. That's why we've established The Costa Foundation, a registered charity. The Costa Foundation's aims are to relieve poverty, advance education and the health and environment of coffee-growing communities around the world. So far, The Costa Foundation has funded the building of 42 schools and improved the social and economic welfare of coffee-growing communities.

SOURCE ToolsGroup