Case: JP group
From reactive to proactive with Inact Now
“With Inact Now, we can now see how strategic our products, customers and suppliers really are.”
– Business Development Manager at JP Group
Anne E. K. Kristensen
Highlights
The Challenge
JP Group had large amounts of data and a strong culture of optimization, but lacked a shared decision-making foundation across the organization.
In particular, it was a challenge to gain visibility into:
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where inventory capital was tied up the most
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which products and customers did not create sufficient value
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how new additions impacted complexity
At the same time, assessments of customers and products were often influenced by experience and relationships rather than data.
This made it difficult to prioritize consistently and ensure that resources were allocated where they created the most value.
The Solution
With Inact Now, JP Group established a shared data foundation and a new language for prioritization in the supply chain.
By combining multiple ABC analyses and working with segmentation across products, customers, and suppliers, it became possible to:
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make the true value of customers and products visible
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challenge assumptions about what is “strategic”
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work in a structured way with rules and segmentation
At the same time, clear response patterns were established. This ensured that insights were not just turned into analyses, but translated into actions that supported value creation across the organization.
The Result
With a shared language and a stronger decision-making foundation, JP Group has moved from reactive to proactive.
This has made it possible to:
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make more data-driven decisions across the organization
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prioritize customers and products, resulting in a 7% increase in revenue
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ensure that resources are focused on the most value-creating activities
The result is a more structured and profitable approach to supply chain management with decisions supporting the overall business performance.
When Complexity Requires a Shared Language of Profitability
JP Group operates in a market where complexity is a fundamental condition. With thousands of products, many customers and suppliers, and an international setup, new decisions constantly arise that impact inventory, service, and profitability.
In such an environment, optimizing individual areas is not enough.
Success requires a holistic overview and a shared way of prioritizing across the organization.
Even with access to data, a strong optimization culture, and a strategy focused on profitability, JP Group found it difficult to answer some of the most critical questions:
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Where are we tying up capital without sufficient return?
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Which customers and products are truly profitable?
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Which additions to the business create value—and which add complexity?
Only with a decision-making structure that matched the company’s level of complexity was JP Group able to regain control and manage the supply chain proactively.
From Gut Feeling to a Shared Language
Previously, many assessments and decisions were made locally and were often based on experience, relationships, or intuition.
For example, a customer or product could be considered “strategic” without that decision being supported by data or shared guidelines.
Instead, customers were prioritized based on individual perceptions of what constituted a “good customer.”
This approach led to inconsistent prioritization that did not account for profitability.
“When we combine multiple ABC analyses and have a CC customer and a CC product, it becomes interesting to see how many resources we actually spend on them.”
Anne E. K. Kristensen
Business Development Manager
With Inact Now, JP Group was able to consolidate data and work more systematically with prioritization.
By combining multiple ABC analyses and creating segmentation across products, customers, and suppliers, it became possible to uncover relationships that were previously hidden.
This made it possible to challenge existing assumptions and create a shared understanding within the organization for what actually creates value.
“We use Inact Now actively across the entire company—even at the management level—when discussing the business.”
Anne E. K. Kristensen
Business Development Manager
However, to fully move away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach, the company needed to establish a clear decision structure.
Service Rules Set the Direction
It became clear that insight alone was not enough.
To create real impact, JP Group required clear response patterns and an organization willing to act on the insights.
Therefore, JP Group worked systematically with service rules—concrete principles for how different customer and product segments should be managed.
These rules were continuously refined and embedded into operations, ensuring that they became an integrated part of daily decision-making rather than just analysis.
“Having a shared language means, for example, that when our sales department receives many inquiries, they have a clear playbook for exactly what level of service each customer segment should receive.”
Anne E. K. Kristensen
Business Development Manager
This also applied to customers, where segmentation made it possible to differentiate service levels and set clearer expectations for collaboration.
In practice, this required being willing to have difficult conversations and allocate resources where they create the most value.
The Result
With the new approach, JP Group has moved from a reactive towards a more proactive way of managing their supply chain.
Where decisions were previously made in response to events, the organization now works systematically and proactively to identify and manage complexity before it becomes a problem.
This is achieved through a double ABC analysis that segments customers, products, and suppliers based on profitability.
“In my view, Inact Now is about becoming more proactive instead of reactive. If we can identify pitfalls in time, we achieve a more profitable business.”
Anne E. K. Kristensen
Business Development Manager
The result is not just better analyses.
It's an organization that increasingly makes decisions based on a shared, data-driven foundation and a clear understanding of what drives profitability.
About the Case
In collaboration with Inact, Business Development Manager Anne E. K. Kristensen has established a shared data foundation and a new language for prioritization in the supply chain.
A double ABC analysis and differentiated management have made it possible to work more systematically with profitability and the management of complexity across the organization.
About JP Group
JP Group is one of the Nordic region’s leading companies in the aftermarket industry, producing and selling high-quality spare parts and accessories for European and Asian cars. They serve around 1,200 B2B customers in more than 90 countries and have around 450 suppliers.
Insight: What are policies?
Based on the ABC categorization, a set of policies is created that determine how each item, customer and supplier in each ABC category should be handled according to their type. The policies structure and systematize the approach to goods, customers and suppliers, making it clear for the organization to have a differentiated approach to elements and stakeholders in the supply chain, and thus achieve a more profitable business.
Ready to take your supply chain to the next level?
Book a demo and see how we can help translate the company's strategy into daily action and make it possible to make faster, smarter, and more profitable decisions.
The solution is for you if you:
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Want to prioritize customers, products, and suppliers based on actual business value
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Want to connect strategy and operations so decisions support the core business
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Need insight and overview so you can make better and faster decisions