Optiply: Extending Traditional Replenishment Models With Big Data

Describe Optiply in 50 words or less.

Optiply (NL) is specialized in inventory optimization. Our algorithm extends traditional replenishment models with big data techniques to improve purchasing decisions. Our Supply Management Software helps companies with what, when and how much to order. Currently our main focus is on e-commerce, but we integrate with ERP-systems like SAP as well.

Why did you decide to pursue your own dreams rather than someone else’s?

As a team we started several businesses while we were in college, some individually and others together. Two of us owned a webshop and found out there are plenty of tools for warehouse management and package delivery, but non for purchasing goods. With our master degrees in Operation Management and Logistics, with a focus on replenishment models and big data, we were convinced we could solve this problem. In a later stage a full-stack developer joined to close the bridge between our data analytics and the customers experience.

Describe your typical working day from coming to the office to leaving it.

A typical working day starts at around 6am, while we meet at the office at around 7:30am. These first hours are “focus hours”, which means no talking just working. We have the feeling this works great for the complex problems we’re solving. Most customers don’t start calling up to 9am anyway, so it’s a great time to really get something done.

Up to the lunch one of us is doing CRM, while the others continue with research and development. The afternoon is mostly filled with customer/partner meetings or demonstrations to customers about new features. After leaving the office around 7:30pm we most of the time work by ourselves in the evening, depending on what we got done that day.

In what ways do you measure your success and how do you make sure you don’t lose track?

The trick is to take a step back pretty much every day and ask yourself the right questions. Is what we do our core business? Are our short-term goals serving our long-term goals? By taking a step back, you get a clear view of the big picture. Success is nothing more than having fun along the way of building your company.

Already pivoted? Did customers use the supply management software like you imagined it in the beginning?

Well. We didn’t really make a pivot product wise, but we did make a pivot considering our target customer. At first we focused on smaller webshops, by mainly automating the supply process instead of optimizing it with our algorithm. Now we discovered that the mid-market and larger webshops benefit from our algorithm the most, while most ERP systems already automated the supply process. This led us to not only integrate with Content Management Systems as Magento, Shopify or WooCommerce, but also to Enterprise Resource Planning systems like SAP, Navision or Exact Online.

Bootstrapped or financed: What fuels your startup now and what will in the future?

So far we bootstrapped all the way and we are not planning to search for investor(s) any time soon. At the beginning we did some consultancy so we could pay the rent and be able to eat a proper meal. Now we are shifting our efforts to Optiply more and more, while sales are picking up quite quickly. Not having a lot of money makes you creative as well and think thoroughly about financial decisions.

What were the biggest challenges you faced building your startup?

The first challenge we faced was to find out if the problem we thought to exist, actually existed. While we experienced the problem ourselves we were pretty convinced, but after days of cold e-mailing an calling we where sure. We met with over twenty webshops to really get a good idea of what the problem was about and get input on how it should be solved. With this knowledge we started to develop our Supply Management Software, keeping our early adopters closely involved. This resulted in a good product market fit.

What do you look for in team members?

As a small company hiring the right people is extremely important. These first additional team members should be more skilled in at least a part of your own skill-set. You will only be able to get these highly skilled employees if you offer them a great salary or some shares of your company. Remember, you get what you pay for!

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