Working capital optimisation for trade and manufacturing.
We show you where cash is stuck in day-to-day operations and how to free it without risking your supply capability. That's why it's design, not a project: the optimisation lasts, instead of fizzling out after the first success.
of tied-up working capital could be freed globally.
Your working capital decides whether growth is paid from cash flow or has to be financed expensively.
Source: PwC Working Capital Study ↗Payment terms are lengthening, tied-up capital is rising. The Hackett Group ↗
You pay the spread as long as your warehouse is externally financed. ECB ↗
And 37% of firms finance stock and working capital, almost as many as investments (39%). ECB SAFE ↗
Payment terms are getting tighter by regulation; liquidity becomes a governance question. EUR-Lex ↗
What does that mean concretely for your company?
If several of these points apply to you, you're systematically losing liquidity.
Growth eats liquidity.
More revenue ties up more cash in stock and receivables.
Interest costs become visible.
Tied-up working capital is a running cost block.
Stock becomes insurance.
The buffer becomes the norm and stays permanently too high.
Write-downs increase.
Obsolescence eats margin, creeping and visible late.
Cash flow gets hard to plan.
Every month-end feels like a surprise egg.
You invest less in digitalisation.
Working capital competes directly with your transformation.
Dead stock rises.
"Just in case" becomes "sitting there for months", with no customer demand.
Supply capability suffers anyway.
More stock doesn't automatically mean fewer shortages.
The working capital calculator shows your potential in euros: free, anonymous, with no stored inputs.
From a cost centre to a strategic lever.
Make tied-up capital visible
We analyse your ERP data and find the levers with the biggest impact on tied-up capital and liquidity: stock coverage, inventory turnover, stock health. And we show for which materials drawing down stock is the bigger lever, and where targeted build-up is.
Ergebnis: KPI survey, top-3 cash levers, stockout-risk report
Define the working capital strategy
From your goals for supply capability and tied-up capital, we formulate the strategy that represents the optimum of both: with cash-out planning, customer requirements and logistical constraints. It's the basis for all ongoing optimisations.
Ergebnis: target service-level simulation, inventory sweet spot, stocking policies
Translation into operational steps
Business intelligence for management, concrete recommendations for the department: up-to-date metrics and directly actionable order proposals via EazyStock. That keeps your service level high and tied-up capital low.
Ergebnis: order proposals, excess-stock alerts, missing-parts radar
Enablement, training and support
Optimisation projects are client-specific; generic training videos aren't enough. We train your key users on your real workflows, guide you through the hypercare phase and stay on board with a fixed point of contact.
Ergebnis: user training, hypercare support, ongoing support
Which industries we work with. And which not.
We work where structured material flows, replenishment and common parts dominate.
- Technical wholesalers
- E-commerce retailers
- Spare-parts traders
- Retailers with a store network and cash & carry
- Series manufacturers
- Make-to-order manufacturers with a high share of common parts
Our approach isn't designed for extremely short lifecycles or highly perishable goods.
- Highly perishable goods (fruit, vegetables, fresh meat)
- Fast fashion: short lifecycles, hardly any recurring articles
- Process industry (chemicals, gas processing, steel)
- Special-purpose machinery with a low share of common parts
- Companies outside trade and manufacturing
If you recognise yourselves here, we're saving us both some time.
“Systempilot helped us cut inventory by 38% by introducing different stocking strategies for equipment and spectacle lenses. I'd recommend working with them to anyone who wants to save money in tough times.”
Common questions about working capital optimisation.
What does working with Systempilot look like?
We always start with an as-is and target-state analysis: stocking strategy, target service level, supplier structure and the most common use cases in working capital optimisation and inventory planning.
Next we define an interface strategy: how the data comes out of your ERP and who owns the integration.
Then we import your ERP data into our reporting tool and run a master-data quality check. You receive the results afterwards.
Finally we implement and configure the system so that inventory drops and your supply capability rises as jointly defined.
What does an engagement cost?
One-off projects, analyses and time-boxed optimisation projects start at around €5,000. For longer-term engagements, for example an EazyStock rollout, we offer packages from around €5,000 one-off. Licence costs typically start at around €1,000 per month.
How long does an engagement usually last?
As a rule we work with our clients over several years. Typical rollout projects take 3–6 months. After that it usually moves into a long-term support and sparring partnership.
What services does working capital optimisation cover?
Working capital optimisation has three parts: inventory optimisation, improving receivables management and optimising supplier terms. We work on all three, with our focus on inventory optimisation.
How much liquidity is tied up in your warehouse?
30 minutes, your numbers, concrete answers. No pitch deck, no sales pressure.
Request a strategy call →