Gains for Spare Parts business

Gains helped us to really improve the way we manage our inventory The only issues we are facing are linked to files transfers between Gains and our ERP (Server connectivity issues, partial data transfer)

Pros

- Service level management per product class - It really improved the way we work between our different Spare Parts Centers (USA, Europe, Asia...)

Cons

- BOM demand - Forecast made on sporadic items (items with really low demand) - files transfers between Gains and our ERP

The software is powerful and easy to use

Pros

If you've used any supply chain optimization software before learning the software is very quick. The multi-echelon optimization screen is great for drilling down to find where BOM & dependent demand is coming from. The multi-tier reporting is great for building just about any report you want. Users can customize their portal screens and queries to their own preferences. Gains Systems does a great job with user training and an annual research group conference. The conference reviews new functionality that was added from the prior year, shows potential new functionality that is in development, and surveys customers to gauge interest and identify areas of improvement.

Cons

One of the things I don't like about the software is there is no alert showing if there was a problem with data processing. In other supply chain optimization software I have used, there is an indicator which shows if data processing completed successfully or if it failed. The support from Gains has been challenging lately. They hire a lot of new college grads to work as analysts. It seems like they are having an issue keeping them. We worked with three different analysts in under two months because the first two quit. Our implementation took longer than normal and it's been a challenge trying to get support in the last remaining open issues we have. This seems to be because of the turnover issue.

Useful overall

Its shortened our forecast review cycle a fair amount, but the functionality is not well understood or trusted outside of the demand planning teams.

Pros

I like that the software does a huge amount of "heavy lifting" from a statistical analysis POV and the logic used is really well thought out.

Cons

The version we are on is dated and it can be unwieldy to use. We've also done too much customizing in some with the features and tables, so troubleshooting data issues can be difficult.

I've been working with GAINS for the past 3 years of being with my company.

We trust this software to be the tool we use for inventory replenishment. Overall this software is a major contributor to how we run the business on a daily basis.

Pros

GAINS is very predictive and does a great job helping with replenishment. We simplified the way in which we use the software and it has proven to do a great job with forecasting. Our inventory positions have been drastically reduced due to this utilization of GAINS, which has created efficiencies for our inventory managers.

Cons

There are a lot of advanced modules within GAINS that we do not utilize, which is due to the goal of simplification to align our business model with that of the software. It can be challenging sometimes to have to modify the code to match our business practice. It seems sometimes that a lot of resources within our organization, as well as within GAINS, need to get involved to accomplish modification of code. Pent up demand has been seen many times by our users where we trust the data only on Mon-Wed, then we ignore GAINS for Thurs-Fri. This pent up demand has been challenging for us to work around and is the least liked thing within our company.

Company with vision and the passion to bring enhanced functionality to reality.

Forecasting tools that help manage our demand and inventory management tools.

Pros

Solid functionality, easy to use and the system is easy to set up per user. The screen layout for the main forms that we use contain all relevant data so users are not having to jump from screen to screen. Report writing feature allows you to create spreadsheets that can be used with execution forms. Online processing for forecasting and inventory optimization. New innovative ideas every year that apply to what we are looking for.

Cons

Implementing new functionality can, at times, take longer then expected. We always get there but it would be nice if the process was less complicated and time consuming.