A good plan is half the battle

We are living in a remarkable period, in which many products are scarce or have long delivery times. Unfortunately, many companies in Europe have delivery problems due to chip shortages, high purchase prices and staff cuts. The consequences of all these developments are also clearly visible in the retail. This results in delayed or even cancelled deliveries, and that is very inconvenient, to say the least. In these times, how can you ensure that you find a supplier who is reliable and can keep his promises? At Pan Oston, we do our absolute best to deliver all our products on time and to a high standard of quality. In this day and age, that sounds almost too good to be true. Therefore, we would like to explain to you how our team ensures that you will soon receive a nice checkout, self-service checkout or interactive kiosk on time. Because at Pan Oston,

A checkout that is delivered on time? In this day and age, that's unique. At Pan Oston, we, therefore, do everything we can to ensure that our delivery times are guaranteed. How do we ensure this? Through a team of specialists who work on a well-thought-out production process every day. Product managers also play a major role in this. They ensure that the production planning is in order. Product managers also ensure that Pan Oston checkouts are built in a modular way. This means that checkout furniture is produced in such a way that it can be delivered to the relevant shops almost ready for use. This way, checkout furniture is not only delivered on time but also takes as little time as possible to install in the shop.

WE LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER

So, what exactly does a product manager do? And what is his role in the whole Pan Oston production process? Product manager Martin Boksebeld explains what he does to ensure that checkouts are delivered on time. "I plan the incoming projects, and then everything starts to run," says Martin."When an order comes in, the project manager passes it on to our production team. I then enter a planning date into our system so that our Purchasing or Metal department knows that they have to get the parts ready. So, I plan the order and immediately enter it into our system so that other departments also know when and what they need to do. In short, I actually reserve time and work out the orders for our project leaders.

PLUG & PLAY CHECKOUTS

The good planning of the product managers ensures that Pan Oston can guarantee its delivery times. "For one customer we now have as many as 80 pieces of furniture ready for delivery. That is due to our forecast," says Martin. "The cash registers are all made in our own factory in Slovakia and then come to the Netherlands. Then, in our Dutch factory, we only have to put a few bumper strips on the cash register or install a door. Here in The Netherlands we only have to do some simple actions to make the in-store checkout completely ready. The rest is actually already assembled.

MODULAR CONSTRUCTION

Pan Oston uses modular construction. Customers who order checkouts in large numbers use the same design. However, there are often small differences per shop. Fortunately, this is easy to solve. Martin: "When checkouts come from Slovakia, they are actually already 90% finished. In the Dutch factory in Raalte, the Pan Oston team finishes the checkouts so that they fit the specific shop requirements." So, by building modularly, the basis of each checkout remains the same, but the details can differ per checkout.

LOOKING AHEAD TO PLAN THE FUTURE

So how can Pan Oston deliver a large order like Martin's example on time? "We can do all this because of our forecast," he says. A forecast is a prediction of approximately how many orders a customer will place."Our Forecast to Order department tries to look about three months ahead, but they often work even further ahead. The project leader has already received an order much earlier and he also thinks well ahead. He tries to ensure that you have enough stock at the beginning of the year and to prevent problems in the delivery. In this way, we know for sure at the end of the year that we are on the right track." Forecasting, therefore, ensures that Pan Oston can deliver on time. In this article, colleague Bauke explained exactly how he, as project leader, ensures a good forecast.

A SMOOTH INSTALLATION

When the checkouts are delivered, it is important that they are installed quickly and properly in the shop. Pan Oston is also good at that."When the checkouts arrive in the shop, the fitter puts everything in place properly," says Martin. "The fitter then makes sure that the checkout is powered up so that all the systems can run. He also adjusts the belt and checks everything. Then Pan Oston's mechanic is as good as done. It is possible that another mechanic mounts the equipment in the checkout, but this could also be done at our location in Raalte. That way you save time in the shop."

Challenge for the product manager

The delivery time for checkouts at Pan Oston is therefore in order, as the entire planning is well thought out. Yet Martin tells us that there are also challenges for him: "for new customers with kiosks is a challenge for us. That is more difficult to plan. For example, digital kiosks and then I hope that next week I will have the last parts so that they can be delivered on time." So customers who want to order a self-service kiosk in the future are best advised to share this with Pan Oston as early as possible.

WANT TO BENEFIT FROM GOOD DELIVERY TIMES?

Are you looking for a reliable partner who lives up to his agreements? Then take a look at what Pan Oston can do for your shop(s). Our team of checkout specialists is ready to discuss your plans and give you good advice.