Griffin IT

From a long list of stock gaps to a short supplier call list

Griffin IT resells IT equipment, so what to buy depends on what is missing and what is selling. A buyer uses Convexity to cut that list down before picking up the phone. Creating purchase orders and passing them to accounting may come later; this story covers the sourcing list.

Illustrative diagram of the workflow described below.
Industry
IT asset disposition and resale
Business model
Distributor
Workflow
Stock gaps → supplier calls

Before: every gap looked urgent

In resale, a stock gap is only worth sourcing if the demand behind it is real, there is no acceptable substitute already on the shelf, and the equipment is not already on its way.

A plain low-stock report answers none of those questions, so the buyer worked them out item by item, and the list stayed as long as it started.

The workflow

  1. Step 1 —

    Start from ranked gaps

    Stock gaps sorted by sales history and demand, not by whatever a report happened to list first.

  2. Step 2 —

    Apply what the buyer knows

    The buyer rules out items with an acceptable substitute or equipment already inbound before anything counts as worth sourcing.

  3. Step 3 —

    Call suppliers about what is left

    The shortlist drives supplier calls, and the rules behind it get adjusted with the team as data issues come up.

A buyer reviews every suggestion before talking to a supplier. Nothing is bought automatically.

Working with Convexity

We scheduled the sales and purchasing reports the team relies on, then walked the purchasing group through the dashboard, the purchasing views and the stock questions they ask most.

We refined the workflow with the buyers as data issues and substitute rules came up.

Related

Start with your workflow

Bring one inventory, purchasing or order-management problem. We will map the required data, demonstrate the relevant workflow and identify what needs configuration or further validation.

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