⚙️ Step 2: Configuring General Settings
Once your source data is clean and connected, it is time to tell Optiply how you actually want to run your business!
To align Optiply's algorithm perfectly with your unique purchasing strategy, several aspects of the system need to be customised. This step involves setting up your strategic inventory classifications, as well as your general product and supplier configurations.
📈 1. Strategic Inventory Classifications
Before Optiply tells you what to buy, you need to define how important each product is to your business.
ABC and XYZ Categories Optiply uses the ABC/XYZ analysis method to classify your inventory.
ABC Categories: Define how to classify your products into A, B, and C tiers based on your gross margin percentages (or revenue). "A" items are your most valuable products. Note: Increasing the percentage threshold for your A category will result in the system holding higher stock values.
XYZ Categories: This adds an additional layer of categorisation based on demand predictability (X being highly predictable, Z being erratic). Allowing you to set percentages within each category refines your inventory strategy even further.
Service Levels: Your Service Level dictates the desired stock availability percentage for each category.
The Trade-off: A higher service level (e.g., 98%) drastically reduces lost sales, but it also significantly increases your holding costs and overall stock value. Adjust this setting to strike the perfect balance between risk and reward for your specific business needs.
🎛️ 2. System & Entity Configurations
With your strategy defined, you can tweak the specific rules for your system, products, and vendors.
The Settings Page. This centralised page allows you to configure both your overarching strategic settings and your personal user-experience settings within Optiply. Tailor these configurations to fit your exact purchasing goals and daily workflows.
Product Settings: Enter and manage detailed information and specific purchasing rules for each individual product. Setting these parameters ensures that Optiply’s daily calculations and automated recommendations are as accurate as possible for every single SKU.
Supplier Settings Finalise your setup by filling in your specific supplier details (like minimum order values, delivery days, and standard lead times). Accurate supplier information is absolutely critical for generating reliable, ready-to-send purchase orders.
❓ 3. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What happens if I set my Service Level to 100%?
Setting a service level to 100% means you are telling the system you never want to run out of stock under any circumstances. In reality, to guarantee 100% availability against unpredictable demand spikes, Optiply would have to advise you to buy a massive, excessively expensive amount of buffer stock. We usually recommend setting high-priority "A" items to around 95-98% to balance availability with healthy cash flow!
Do I need to manually categorise every product into ABC/XYZ?
No! You simply set the percentage thresholds (the rules) in your General Settings, and Optiply's algorithm will automatically categorise and re-categorise your products based on their actual sales performance and your defined strategy.