In the fast-paced, high-stakes environment of modern supply chain management, data is crucial. However, the true value lies not in merely collecting data, but in how that data is analyzed and used to make intelligent, predictive decisions. Inventory Capital Solutions (ICS) by FDC is built on a sophisticated technological foundation designed to do exactly that, transforming your inventory planning process from basic stock tracking to a powerful, prescriptive system.
Here is a breakdown of the core components that make the ICS technology so powerful.
Pinpointing Risk: The Actuarial Science of Supply and Demand
At the core of the ICS system is its unique capability to precisely determine the actual supply and demand risk at the individual item and location level. This is far from a simple average. ICS leverages your latest transaction-level data to compute specific, dynamic risk factors for every single stock keeping unit (SKU).
The technology works continuously by:
Tracking Real Lead Times: Every single transaction for every part at every location is monitored to capture and track its actual delivery lead time, not just the static estimate.
Monitoring Delivery Performance: ICS constantly monitors order fulfillment, comparing actual delivery performance against expectations to identify reliability issues.
These real-time calculations highlight potential risks, which are then scientifically factored into the calculation of your safety stock and reorder points. ICS even automatically compensates for identified risks, ensuring your inventory is always optimized to protect service levels.
The Power of Prediction: Automated Multi-Algorithm Forecasting
Predicting future demand for complex parts is a challenging process, but Inventory Capital Solutions turns it into a competitive advantage. ICS employs an automated, sophisticated multi-algorithm “tournament” method to generate and optimize demand forecasts. By rigorously testing multiple forecasting algorithms, it identifies the single best-possible forecast for a given item, location, and time period.
This advanced forecasting engine delivers:
Granular Projections: Forecasts are generated by line-item and day, offering a detailed, actionable view across all stocking channels and locations.
Human-in-the-Loop Flexibility: Market knowledge and critical human insights can be effortlessly incorporated to enable rapid, informed reactions to sudden demand fluctuations.
High-Level Views: Aggregate views provide essential high-level perspectives for managing vast volumes of inventory across user-defined categories, such as specific product groups or business units.
Event Planning: Known future demand from planned activities (like major service contracts or promotional campaigns) is automatically factored into the forecast, and replenishment recommendations are instantly adjusted.
Simulating Success: A Risk-Free Environment for Strategy
What if you could accurately test the impact of a significant change to your inventory strategy without any exposure to real-world risk? The ICS simulation platform delivers this capability. Its comprehensive "what-if" analysis features allow you to:
Test Forecast Adjustments: Instantly see the impact of any changes to the demand forecast on future purchasing, inventory values, and expected sales.
Enrich Forecasts: Add human market knowledge or external data to forecasts and immediately visualize the projected effects across the supply chain.
Experiment with Optimization: Test different stocking policies and optimization strategies in a completely controlled, risk-free environment.
Flexible Simulation Levels: Easily choose to simulate changes at the macro (network-wide), micro (single SKU/location), or any user-defined level in between.
Enabling Innovation: The Technology Behind Off-Balance Sheet Solutions
The sophisticated risk algorithms that power ICS also enable innovative third-party inventory financing solutions. This is a key capability that truly elevates IPS beyond standard inventory management systems.
This technology allows for:
Zero Physical Change: Inventory de-recognition and off-balance sheet treatment are achieved without making any changes to your physical warehouse setup or the actual flow of goods.
Full Accounting Compliance: The solutions are fully engineered to comply with major international accounting standards, including US-GAAP and IFRS.
Unified Management: The system seamlessly manages both the divested and the remaining inventory within a single, integrated platform, ensuring operational consistency.
Inventory Capital Solutions by FDC is a powerful fusion of advanced analytics, machine learning, and strategic simulation. It’s a technology built to not only manage your inventory but to transform it from a capital burden into a high-value strategic asset, providing the intelligence and flexibility needed to thrive in a complex global market.