Dive Brief:
- Hasbro has made efforts to improve its end-to-end planning capabilities, bringing aged inventory down to “historic lows,” EVP and CFO Gina Goetter said during a Q2 2024 earnings call.
- The EVP noted the toy and game company’s upgraded planning proficiencies have helped it better determine where to source inventory according to customer demand.
- Despite shrinking its product backlog, Hasbro will ensure “suitable inventory levels to support sell-through for the holidays,” according to Goetter.
Dive Insight:
Hasbro has been undergoing a supply chain transformation recently, with Goetter crediting its “major wins” in Q2 2024 in part to Stephanie Beal, who was promoted to chief supply chain officer in July.
The toy and game company did not go into details regarding its end-to-end planning improvement and did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. However, during a Q1 2024 earnings call, Goetter said that Hasbro implemented a major inventory overhaul last year that benefited the company during Q4 2023.
“Also, within our supply chain, we are building new capabilities within planning and forecasting to ensure that inventory levels, both owned and retail, remain within the desired threshold,” Goetter said during a Q4 2023 earnings call. “We made significant progress coming out of 2023 and these updated processes and tools will ensure that we maintain a healthy inventory position”
The toy and game company focused on reducing logistics costs last year, Goetter told analysts during a Q3 2023 earnings call. She added that this year Hasbro planned to target procurement and manufacturing.
To reduce complexity, Hasbro is focusing on efficient SKUs and reducing costs during product design to generate savings and improve the profitability of its toy business, Goetter said in Q3.
For example, Hasbro planned to release a lower cost version of Jenga, based on a “fresh design for cost model,” which the company is replicating throughout its production line, CEO Chris Cocks said.
In Q3 2023, Cocks said that Hasbro’s supply chain alone was driving roughly $100 million of the year’s expected savings, with logistics and production costs down to the mid-single digits.
“Our revamped supply chain is helping us get smarter on inventory management,” the CEO said at the time.
