Customer Story
Lohmiller & Co. Extends Its Forecast From 30 Days to a Year and Cuts Inventory 24%
Overview
Lohmiller & Co., a four-location HVAC distributor, went live with Blue Ridge two months before the COVID outbreak, extending its forecasting from a 30-day view to a full year ahead. Inventory turns improved 70%, and total inventory fell 24% while fill rates improved 11%.
Industry
HVAC
Solutions
Demand Planning
Replenishment
Inventory Optimization / MEIO
Challenges
The prior system could not see beyond 30 days, which meant no forecasting.
“Before we implemented Blue Ridge, our current system didn’t have the capability of seeing more than 30 days in the future,” says John Willis, VP, Supply Chain & Logistics. “So we had no forecasting.” Without forward visibility, inventory decisions were made with no planning buffer against demand swings.
In a mostly seasonal HVAC business, seasonality could not be built into the forecast.
“We also didn’t have seasonality or the availability to put that seasonality into the forecasts,” John says. “And being in an HVAC business, our business is mostly seasonality.”
Challenge 01
A 30-day planning horizon
Challenge 02
No way to plan for seasonality
Solutions
Year-ahead forecasting, SKU-level seasonality, and MEIO across four locations
Blue Ridge extended Lohmiller’s forecasting horizon from 30 days to a full year.
“Before we implemented Blue Ridge, our current system didn’t have the capability of seeing more than 30 days in the future,” says John Willis, VP, Supply Chain & Logistics. “So we had no forecasting.” Without forward visibility, inventory decisions were made with no planning buffer against demand swings.
Seasonality is built into the forecast at the SKU level, so planning follows the cycles that drive HVAC demand.
“We also didn’t have seasonality or the availability to put that seasonality into the forecasts,” John says. “And being in an HVAC business, our business is mostly seasonality.”
The MEIO program levels inventory across all four locations, with same-day and next-day transfers.
Lohmiller ranks its Strategic Success Practice above the support from any of its roughly 14 software systems: responsive, timely, and quick to get answers.
Solution 01
Forecasting a full year ahead
Solution 02
SKU-level seasonality
Solution 03
MEIO across four locations
Solution 04
Strategic Success Practice support
Results
Turns up 70%, inventory down 24%, and overstock off the watch list
70%
Improvement in inventory turns
24%
Reduction in total inventory
Since go-live, Lohmiller’s numbers have improved across the board. Inventory turns improved 70% and run at about 7.5 to 8 today. Total inventory fell 24% while service levels improved, fill rates rose 11%, and forecast accuracy improved 41%. The team also reduced transfer costs by $4M across its four locations.
Overstock has effectively disappeared. The team does not monitor it, other than items that are phasing out. The MEIO program keeps inventory level, with transfers the same day and the next day across all four locations.
“Since COVID and today, we have better numbers. Our turns were about seven and a half to eight. We don’t even monitor our overstock inventory because it just doesn’t exist, other than items that are phasing out.”
John Willis
VP, Supply Chain & Logistics
Looking Ahead
Three upgrades in, and looking forward to what is next
“Their [Strategic Success Practice] is by far the best one that we’ve had with any software that we have. And trust me, we have about 14 softwares in our company. But Blue Ridge is responsive, timely, and they get you the answer that [you] need.”
John sees Blue Ridge as a platform that keeps changing and evolving to the markets it serves.
The support behind the platform matters just as much. Lohmiller runs about 14 software systems, and it ranks its Strategic Success Practice at the top.
Customer Stories
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Brad Smith
SVP, Procurement & Sales
Southwest Traders supplies national restaurant chains – Panera, Einstein, Starbucks, Panda Express – from a buying team of nine to eleven working on an AS/400 ERP. Blue Ridge cut order-build time from days to a few hours, held service levels at 99.95% across blue-chip customers, and let the company onboard new brands without adding to the planning team.
99.95%
Service level across national restaurant brands
~18.5
Days on hand
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Stephanie Hunn
Senior Manager, Planning
Before Blue Ridge, ISN was struggling to optimize fill rate and inventory turns simultaneously. The team evaluated multiple vendors and chose Blue Ridge for the onboarding, training, and ongoing system improvements baked into the relationship. They went live and saw measurable results from the first operating cycle forward – with the Strategic Success Practice supporting every step.
~99%
Forecast accuracy maintained
50%
Improvement in fill rates over twelve months
“The goal wasn't just to reduce inventory. It was to have what we need, when we need it. That's exactly what Blue Ridge helped us do.”
David Mays
VP of Operations
West Virginia Electric Supply is an electrical distributor running eight branches on the Eclipse ERP. Centralizing inventory and moving to data-led replenishment let the team strip out the dead stock that had quietly accumulated for years – while service to contractors and customers held above 96% and the planning organization shifted from firefighting to forward-looking decisions.
70–80%
Reduction in dead stock
96.3%
Service level to contractors and customers
"Blue Ridge has the best interface and analytics you would need as a professional purchasing buyer"
Thelma Chavez
Director of Operations
Jackson Systems is a six-division HVAC distributor generating roughly $40M in annual revenue. Before Blue Ridge, the planning team reviewed every SKU manually – a process measured in days, not hours. Exception-based planning compressed that work, freed cash from excess stock, and pushed service levels into a range the team had never sustained before.
~$1M
Drop in inventory on hand
98.1%
Service level, up from 88%
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