Datalliance, Cincinnati, and Siemon, Watertown, Conn., a manufacturer of high-performance network cabling solutions, is using its vendor-managed inventory (VMI) system at Graybar Electric Co., St. Louis, to support the 11,000-plus potential product configurations that Siemon supplies to Graybar’s 250 locations.
Katie Villa, Siemon’s distributor account manager, said, “VMI gives us the capability to better manage our entire supply chain as we gain a more accurate picture of anticipated demand for Graybar. This helps us better plan everything from production mix to raw materials requirements — aligning our efforts more closely with Graybar demand patterns. With the large number of end items that we supply, VMI helps us address the challenge of having the product configurations that Graybar needs across their 250 locations, when they need them. Graybar and our other major distributors will benefit from increased inventory turns and sales of Siemon products.”