Case Study: Thule achieves 92% service levels and lower inventory with ToolsGroup's SO99+

Increases service levels and reduces inventory with improved planning

Thule, the Swedish outdoor and consumer-goods brand, was struggling with highly seasonal and intermittent demand across roughly 75,000 SKU/locations, nearly 1,000 unique part numbers, and a decentralized, manual planning process that left service levels below 80%. To tackle falling planner productivity and complex network challenges, Thule engaged ToolsGroup and deployed its Service Optimizer 99+ (SO99+) planning suite, implemented with partner Optilon, to centralize and automate demand forecasting, planning and inventory optimization.

ToolsGroup’s SO99+ introduced probability-based forecasting, inventory optimization by service-group aggregation, and a Demand Collaboration Hub to improve visibility and planner efficiency. As a result, Thule raised service levels from under 80% to 92% in two years, lowered inventories while targeting a 15% reduction, regained control of its multi-tier network during growth, and gained advanced “what-if” reporting to guide assortment and stocking decisions — delivering measurable improvements in service, working capital and planning productivity. ToolsGroup’s solution enabled these outcomes across Thule’s 20 locations and global market footprint.

Thule

Michael Wolfsteiner

Demand Planner