Challenge
A Fortune 50 automotive supplier faced 18% excess inventory across 47 global facilities while experiencing 12% late deliveries to assembly plants, driven by inaccurate demand forecasting and fragmented procurement practices.
Solution
NorthStar deployed an integrated demand planning platform using 18 months of historical data, supplier lead time variance, and production pattern analysis. We redesigned the procurement organization around commodity families, consolidated suppliers from 3,400 to 1,200, and implemented a tiered inventory strategy that differentiated SKUs by demand volatility and lead time. Our team trained cross-functional teams on collaborative forecasting, established vendor-managed inventory agreements with top 50 suppliers, and created a real-time supply-demand visibility dashboard accessible to operations centers.
Outcome
Inventory decreased by 23% ($89M reduction), on-time delivery improved to 97.8%, and working capital freed up $73M. Procurement savings totaled $52M annually through consolidation and contract optimization.