Altron continues to breathe new life into businesses that were once on the chopping block, announcing that its Altron Arrow unit has launched a new business process outsourcing service.
Altron has been shaving off businesses that it deemed noncore.
Mid-2023 saw it conclude the sale of its ATM hardware and support business unit to NCR Corporation for $10m (R186.6m at the time).
In October 2021, the group sold its training services unit, Altron People Solutions, for an undisclosed amount. Altron Arrow, which distributes electronic components, was on the chopping block but was reclassified as a continuing operation more than a year ago.
With this restructuring appearing to be done, the group has shifted its focus to bolstering the remaining units.
On Tuesday, the group, valued at about R7bn on the JSE, launched Inventory Management as a Service, which it said “minimises inventory issues by offering an outsourced end-to-end inventory management solution, including warehousing”.
In essence, the unit helps businesses to manage their inventory.
“The solution is ideally suited to customers in the electronics manufacturing market who are facing challenges with their stock holding and are losing — or cannot account for — components,” the company said.
In addition, Arrow is able to resolve these problems, while improving reporting, providing real-time inventory tracking and visibility, streamlining warehouse operations, reducing waste and improving audit compliance.
Altron is selling the offering as a way to greatly reduce inventory-related costs “by optimising stock levels and minimising overstocking and stockouts”. This allows businesses to avoid tying up capital in excessive stock — and the associated storage costs — while also ensuring it has sufficient stock to meet customer demand, the company said.
Renato Martins, MD of Altron Arrow, said: “Efficient inventory management is the cornerstone of a successful business. Successfully managing stock can be complicated. In a highly competitive business environment, keeping costs contained is critically important and inventory management failures can be costly for a business, affecting both profitability and the sustainability of the business.
“That’s why we made significant investments in our Inventory Management as a Service offering, including in software development and customising a newly acquired X-ray scanner.”
Altron’s share price rose 3.04% on Tuesday to R16.96. It has more than doubled in value over the past year.
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