Shining Bright: How Alliance Consumer Group Strengthened Forecasting, Availability, and Inventory Performance with ketteQ
ACG enhances supply chain forecasting, inventory turns, and customer commitments by integrating Salesforce execution with adaptive planning.
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Overview
Alliance Consumer Group (ACG) is a leading consumer products company based in Fort Worth, Texas, that designs and distributes well-known brands, including NEBO flashlights, TRUE pocket tools, Skeeter Hawk pest defense, and iPROTEC firearm accessories. ACG sells through a complex mix of big-box retailers, independent accounts, Amazon, and direct-to-consumer channels, reaching more than 50,000 retail locations worldwide.
ACG operates in a highly seasonal, promotion-driven environment. Each year, the company introduces 50–100 new products while simultaneously rationalizing SKUs. With expanding operations in Canada and plans to extend its supply chain model into the UK and EMEA, ACG required a more adaptable approach to forecasting, inventory planning, and customer commitments, one that could scale decision-making without introducing operational friction.
“With ketteQ’s cloud-based offerings, we’ve unlocked unparalleled flexibility and scalability in our sales and operations planning (S&OP). Between seamless integrations and an intuitive user interface, we can now streamline our processes, adapt swiftly to market demands, and drive sustainable growth while also delivering superior service to our customers and retail partners.”
Challenge
As ACG’s business grew more complex, spreadsheets and disconnected planning tools became a constraint rather than an enabler. The supply chain organization faced several challenges:
- Volatile demand driven by seasonality, promotions, and frequent new product introductions
- Limited real-time visibility into inventory and availability across channels
- Inconsistent allocation decisions during constrained supply situations
- The need for fast, reliable promise dates to support sales and customer commitments
- Heavy reliance on spreadsheets slowed planning and increased operational risk
ACG’s planning team needed a single, trusted view of supply and demand—one that could continuously reflect reality and support confident decisions across the business.
“We were spending too much time reconciling spreadsheets and answering one-off questions,” said Larson. “What we needed was real-time visibility that everyone could trust and act on.” -- Stephanie Larson, Director of Supply Chain at ACG
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Solution
Solution
ACG partnered with ketteQ to modernize its supply chain planning and execution processes, connecting planning intelligence directly to Salesforce-driven execution.
By deploying ketteQ on Salesforce, ACG gained:
- Real-time Available-to-Promise (ATP): More than 200 field service sales reps can now click “Get ATP” in Salesforce, triggering ketteQ to evaluate real-time supply, demand, and inventory constraints and return accurate promise dates in seconds.
- Centralized, adaptive planning: Forecasting and inventory planning moved out of spreadsheets into a single system designed to evaluate trade-offs as conditions change continuously.
- Stronger allocation discipline: Clear, system-driven guardrails replaced reactive, manual allocation decisions during periods of constrained supply.
- Sales visibility without disruption: View-only access for sales users reduced ad hoc requests and improved responsiveness, all while avoiding overload for planners.
Rather than replacing human judgment, ketteQ shifted planners’ focus from manual reconciliation to managing exceptions, scenarios, and policy decisions—while routine decisions were handled automatically within defined guardrails.
Results
Results
ACG’s adoption of ketteQ delivered measurable improvements across forecasting, inventory, and service performance:
- Inventory turns increased from approximately 2.6 to ~3.75, peaking around 4.1, depending on seasonality
- $2M–$5M reduction in inventory year over year, driven by better positioning rather than simply carrying less stock
- OTIF performance improved from the 60s/70s to the high 90s
- Faster, more confident customer commitments, including the ability to confirm large orders immediately using real-time availability
- Improved planning maturity, as ACG works toward making ketteQ the system of record and eliminating spreadsheet dependency
As Larson noted, the most significant shift was not just better metrics, but greater confidence in daily decisions—knowing that commitments, allocations, and inventory positions were grounded in real-time reality.
Why It Matters
ACG’s experience demonstrates that resilience is not achieved by planning harder, but by planning differently. By embedding adaptive, decision-ready planning intelligence directly into execution systems, ACG reduced friction, improved outcomes, and scaled decision-making without adding complexity.
In an environment characterized by seasonality, frequent product launches, and ongoing volatility, connecting planning to action in real-time has become a competitive advantage.
Looking Ahead
As ACG continues to expand into new markets and channels, its investment in adaptive planning provides a strong foundation for growth. With ketteQ, the company has transformed its supply chain from reactive to proactive—enabling faster decisions, better customer commitments, and sustained operational performance.
Discover how ketteQ can help your business transform its supply chain at ketteQ.com.
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