CERAMICOSA SA is a Spanish company of which you are the logistics director. It is dedicated to the manufacture of plates, tiles and various ceramic structures for housing (walls, floors, countertops, etc.). It has its production and distribution warehouse in La Vall d'Uix (Castelln).

CERAMICOSA has experienced an exponential rise in sales due to new decorative trends based on the use of ceramics, whose attributes are linked to elegance, cleanliness and durability. In addition, the company is known for making high quality ceramics, one of the best in the market, with totally original designs and engravings. All this has caused the demand for their product to increase considerably in the last few years.

The strategic director of the company has decided that it is time to export these new decorative trends to various Western European countries, as she thinks that the taste and fashion in aesthetic concepts are quite similar, thus ensuring a very good reception. To this end, an agreement has been signed as exclusive suppliers of Furniturest, a chain of luxury department stores dedicated exclusively to the sale of accessories, furniture and home installations.

The main characteristic of Furniturest, which has salespoints throughout Europe, is that it supplies the material to its customers in less than 24 hours after payment. This forces CERAMICOSA to be very clear about the logistic processes to avoid stock ruptures at times of peak demand, which would imply very important monetary fines as a penalty, as stated in their agreement.

At this current time, the production is being distributed to three locations:

• Furniturest Stockhlom
• Furniturest Palermo
• Furniturest Viena

We find that CERAMICOSA is entering a completely new export stage and it is very conditioned by a restrictive exclusivity contract. For this reason, as logistics director, you must develop a logistic plan oriented to the internationalization of your product taking into account all the mentioned particularities.

DEVELOP

1. In the first place, focus on the Inventory stage of the logistics process.
   • Explain why an exhaustive inventory control is especially important in your company.
   • Propose actions to prevent disruption of the production process resulting from poor inventory management.