Melissa Cupis

Melissa initially trained as Accountant with Ernst & Young before moving into the technology arena with Cap Gemini Sogeti. Early in 90s, Melissa worked with large food and non-food retailers with BACG both in the UK and US. After working with clients at Logistics Directors Club, Melissa was introduced to Demand Forecasting and Inventory Optimisation company and went onto to be the MD for nearly 10 years. Her clients have included Pets At Home, Le Creuset, Fortnum and Mason, Space NK, and fashion companies such as Bonmarche, Lifestyle Sports and many others. Her projects have spanned digital supply chain transformations across the globe working with ERPs including Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, NAV, AX, Finance and Operations, SAP, SAGE and others.

Nick Weetman

I set up my consultancy with my business partner to highlight and resolve the issues in businesses caused by poor demand forecasting, inventory management and the lack of Sales & Operations Planning.  
I like to transform clients’ businesses – making a real change to the way they operate. This will include education, designing and implementing new processes, deploying relevant systems.  

I listen to the customers’ pain points – what are the issues the business is facing: poor service levels; stock write-off; cash tied up in stock; lack of warehouse capacity; poor warehouse productivity. The root cause of these is so often the lack of Sales & Operations Planning, demand forecasting and optimised inventory management. 

I love educating people. So many of the people running our inventory departments and warehouses have grown from the “shop floor” with no formal training in their discipline. Understanding the core principles will lead to better performance. 

I am able to operate at all levels within a business – CEO, CFO to warehouse operative or inventory clerk. I am strategic, tactical, operational. My background is a blend of “doing” and “consulting”, so I can apply robust solutions I know work in the real-world. 

I have worked a 50/50 balance of operational roles and consulting and enjoyed the benefits of both. Operations have the thrill of leading a team of people, managing and developing them, seeing them grow and achieving great results. Consultants (and I used to HATE consultants) get to experience different disciplines in different sectors – public, private, not-for-profit – large and small and can cross-fertilise over multiple-organisations. This allows me to challenge perceived wisdom that I come across in different areas. 

I value direct engagement with stakeholders, customers and suppliers to find solutions, resolve issues and develop lasting relationships. Experience tells me this attribute is more important than sector specific knowledge which can be readily assimilated once immersed in a role.