How We Used Prediko for a Toy Business

Toy companies change quickly. One product becomes viral, and sells out in days, and the other remains on the shelf for months. There are big spikes during holidays and a single wholesale buyer can place orders for thousands of units.

We dealt with a fairly large toy company that sells online and to wholesale customers. Some of its toys were purchased from overseas factories that had already manufactured them and others were manufactured from raw materials in the house. The glue that held the planning together was Prediko. Our experience with it, the challenges we faced and what we would say to any toy company with their eyes on it. 

Getting the setup right

Prediko integrated with both of the brand's Shopify stores, one for retail, and one for wholesale. It brought all the sales from all channels together.

We took some time on the settings before taking any of their suggestions. Every supplier was required to have a real lead time as overseas toy factories would take 90 to 120 days to make and ship an order. The minimum order and carton size were required for each product. We also ensured that all products from the house are available through the brand name so that the buy list would only display products that we actually purchased from other brands. 

Our monthly buying routine

Every month followed the same steps.

1. Set the date range to the end of the following month, so slower orders were not left too late.

2. Filter the buy plan by supplier and pick every product marked buy now.

3. Check the recommended units against the supplier's minimum order and round up to full cartons.

4. Create a draft order in Prediko, then build the final purchase order in Procurement Express.

5. Refresh the plan so the new orders show as in transit.

Working supplier by supplier kept each order tidy and made it easy to see when everything for one factory was done. By the 5th of the month, the buy now list should be close to empty.

Handling the toy craze and seasonal spikes

Prediko forecasts are based on previous sales and are suitable for a steady seller. Not all toys are stable.

Products that went "viral" sold much more recently than they ever had in the past. Prediko followed suit, but so frequently we took a little more than the restaurant suggested and we would include a reason as to why in the order, as the owner wanted extra cover when demand was hot. If the ordering quantity was large, then the planned quantity of units for the following month was increased by the expected quantity of units (for wholesale orders) so that Prediko could plan accordingly.

What we found along the way

A few things only became clear after weeks of daily use.

• Kits assembled in house show a one day lead time, because the final step happens in the warehouse. The real lead time sits on the kit you buy from the factory, so we read stock in transit against that.

• Raw materials are tracked by weight while suppliers sell by the bag, so every conversion is checked by hand.

• New orders take a little time to show up in the plan. A manual refresh fixes it.

• Stock counts matter. When stock on hand was wrong, the buy plan was wrong too, so we flagged mismatches and had them recounted.

None of these stopped us. Each one became a small rule in our process.

What this means for other Businesses 

The toy business had a place where they found out what was selling, what came and what to purchase next: Prediko. It reduced the time taken for the monthly purchase and made the owner's task of reviewing the orders with the numbers behind them easier.

The message for all toy brands is the same: Use actual lead times and minimums, maintain accurate stock levels, incorporate known demand. If you are looking for assistance in setting up Prediko and/or your monthly purchase from it, feel free to contact us. We will share our experience with you.