LNK Improves In-Stock Position at Rite Aid
When LNK International, a private-label manufacturer of over the counter pharmaceuticals, wanted to improve its in-stock position with Rite Aid, the company turned to Prescient's Forecast Exchange solution, a web-based collaboration tool that helps retailers and suppliers to compare forecast information, manage to exceptions and adjust forecasts as required. "As soon as we went live with Forecast Exchange, we saw that our inventory levels were too low to service Rite Aid and its newly acquired Brooks-Eckerd stores," says Ray McClusker, director of private label for drug chains at LNK. "With Prescient, we had visibility into what Rite Aid was planning to buy, which represented a significant increase over our forecasted demand. Thanks to Forecast Exchange, we were alerted in time to adjust the forecast. Otherwise, we never would have caught the discrepancy." LNK's Rite Aid branded products are promoted regularly, and the visibility LNK now has into promotions through Forecast Exchange allows better planning for demand without building up excess inventory. This is particularly important for a private label manufacturer, since they can't sell the Rite Aid brand to anyone else.