How a global manufacturer and distributor replaced ERP/WMS/TMS silos with an Inventory & OTIF Control Tower — reducing excess stock, improving delivery reliability and giving sales a trustworthy answer to one critical question: “Can we actually promise this order?”
This case story illustrates a common data challenge for manufacturing, distribution and logistics organizations: fragmented ERP, WMS, TMS and sales data creating false confidence in inventory availability. Do your teams argue about stock instead of acting on it? Let’s map your Inventory Control Tower →
A global industrial manufacturer and distributor had inventory across six warehouses in Europe and North America. On paper, the business looked well stocked. The CFO saw working capital locked in inventory. Sales saw “available” products in ERP. Operations saw warehouse locations full.
But customers saw something else: incomplete deliveries, delayed orders and unreliable commitments. The root cause was not a simple shortage. It was an inventory mirage: ERP, WMS, TMS, forecast files and sales spreadsheets all described a different version of availability.
Some products were visible in ERP but blocked in WMS. Others were physically present in the wrong region. Slow-moving SKUs consumed space and cash, while fast movers were protected by outdated safety stock rules. Every team had data. No one had the truth.
The turning point came during a renewal negotiation with a strategic B2B customer. The customer demanded a reliable service-level commitment for a key product family. Sales promised based on ERP availability. The warehouse later confirmed that part of that stock was reserved, blocked or sitting in the wrong region.
The order shipped late and incomplete. The customer moved part of the volume to a competitor. The post-mortem revealed the painful truth: the company had enough total inventory, but not enough decision-grade visibility to promise, allocate and replenish correctly.
Multishoring designed a governed analytics layer that did not replace ERP, WMS or TMS. Instead, it connected them into one trusted view of availability, delivery performance and working capital risk.
We audited ERP, WMS, TMS, order management and forecast spreadsheets to identify conflicting inventory definitions and broken handoffs.
Azure Data Factory pipelines consolidated operational data into a governed Azure data layer with standardized SKU, location and customer dimensions.
We aligned business and IT around one OTIF definition, available-to-promise rules, blocked stock treatment and inventory segmentation.
Power BI dashboards and alert logic highlighted stock-out risk, excess inventory, slow movers and orders likely to miss OTIF before the customer felt it.
The Control Tower became a decision layer above existing systems: operational platforms continued to run the business, while Azure and Power BI turned fragmented data into trusted operational intelligence.
The project changed the rhythm of decision-making. Instead of debating which system was right, teams started acting on shared exceptions.
“The warehouse said stock was blocked. ERP said it was available. Sales had already promised it. Everyone had data, but nobody had confidence.”
“We stopped asking ‘which number is right?’ and started asking ‘which exception do we fix first?’ That shifted the entire operating rhythm.”
The biggest win was not another dashboard. It was one operational language for availability, OTIF and inventory risk.
The solution created measurable value by improving delivery reliability while reducing unnecessary inventory buffers.
We combined data architecture, BI design and business KPI governance so the Control Tower could be trusted by supply chain, finance, sales and IT.
We connect operational systems into an analytics-ready data layer without forcing a risky rip-and-replace program.
Map your data silosWe build executive and operational dashboards for OTIF, stock-out risk, inventory aging and customer service performance.
See Control Tower approachWe help CFOs and supply chain leaders quantify how inventory decisions affect cash, margin and service level.
Build the business caseWe review ERP, WMS, TMS, order and forecast data to identify where availability, reservations and delivery status diverge.
We build a focused pilot for one region, warehouse network or product family to prove OTIF and working capital value.
We expand the model across warehouses, customers and product categories, adding governance, alerts and executive reporting.
“Inventory problems are rarely just warehouse problems. They are usually visibility problems. When ERP, WMS, TMS and sales data finally speak the same language, companies can protect customer promises without hiding behind expensive safety stock.”
