A2A Restores Flow and Frees Millions in Working Capital with Intuiflow

A2A is one of Italy’s leading multi-utility groups, serving millions across Northern Italy with energy, water, and environmental services. Through subsidiaries like Unareti, the company manages vast infrastructures that power daily life — from electricity and gas networks to water systems, district heating, and public lighting.

But behind that essential service was a fragmented materials network that struggled to keep up with A2A’s growth.

Each division — electricity, gas, and water — operated its own warehouses, processes, and suppliers. Data lived in silos. Materials sat idle in one depot while others faced crippling shortages. Technicians overordered to avoid emergencies. And investment projects — crucial to network expansion — were often postponed simply because parts weren’t available.

“We had lots of material and poor service at the same time — wrong items in the wrong places. People were working like crazy in emergency mode.”

— Federico Mauri, Managing Director, Public Lighting Business Unit, Unareti (A2A Group)

The Challenge: Fragmented Systems, Postponed Investments, Constant Firefighting

A2A’s materials management had evolved organically over decades — across multiple legal entities, disconnected ERPs, and inconsistent local practices. Warehouses existed physically but not digitally. Field consumption was recorded late, if at all.

Without reliable demand signals, planners relied on guesswork and spreadsheets. The result:

• Excess inventory tying up millions in working capital.
• Stock-outs delaying maintenance and investment projects.
• Frequent emergencies that disrupted planned work.
• Poor synchronization between warehouses, operations, and suppliers.

Forecasts were unreliable, data quality was poor, and central control was limited. According to A2A’s team, “We had non-organic materials management, low centralization, and dirty data — consumption recorded ex-post. When emergencies hit, missing material caused trouble.”

By 2019, these inefficiencies had a measurable impact: nearly 30% of investment delays were directly tied to missing materials.

A2A needed a way to bring order, visibility, and discipline to this chaos — without waiting for a multi-year ERP replacement.

The Solution: Demand-Driven Transformation with PwC and Intuiflow

In 2019, A2A partnered with PwC Italy to launch a multi-year transformation program — “Digital Material Management” (Digimama) — built on the Demand Driven MRP (DDMRP) methodology and powered by Intuiflow from Demand Driven Technologies.

The program began with formal DDMRP training and a six-month proof of value, using real data from the electricity division. The simulation showed that A2A could raise service levels and cut inventory at the same time — simply by managing flow instead of forecasts.

Encouraged by the results, A2A rolled out Intuiflow across its electricity, gas, and water businesses. The cloud platform was chosen for its functional coverage, ease of use, and deep integration with SAP, IBM Maximo, and other existing systems like TIBCO and Blueworks.

“DDMRP was something totally new for us. With PwC’s help, we ran projects in different logistics areas to solve our pain points.”

— A2A / Unareti Team

Building the Foundation: Data, Process, and People

A2A quickly realized that software alone wouldn’t fix the problem — transformation had to start with data and process discipline.

The team began with a complete master data cleanup and redesign of materials flows. Key initiatives included:

• Defining new demand signals to reflect real consumption rather than unreliable forecasts.
• Creating distribution Bills of Materials (BOMs) for recurring work orders, ensuring planners could plan every part of a project accurately.
• Redesigning warehouse networks across 3 central and 40 peripheral depots to mirror true flow paths.
• Introducing the Material Planner role in each zone to bridge planning and field operations.

At the same time, Intuiflow’s buffer positioning logic was applied to decouple critical stages in A2A’s supply chain — from procurement to field usage. This ensured that every strategic buffer absorbed variability instead of passing it downstream.

The transformation also extended to technicians in the field: tablet-based tools now record actual material consumption as soon as a job is completed, automatically updating Intuiflow.

“The day we connected material usage from the field into Intuiflow was the day we started trusting our numbers.”

— Federico Mauri

What Changed: From Firefighting to Flow

Within a year, A2A moved from reactive to proactive planning — from emergency-driven logistics to stable, demand-driven flow.

Unified Visibility Across Networks

Intuiflow now connects two central hubs (Milan and Brescia), dozens of local depots, and subcontractor warehouses under one synchronized model. Every transaction — from supplier delivery to field consumption — is tracked in real time.

Dynamic, Demand-Driven Buffers

Inventory levels are recalculated daily based on actual consumption, lead times, and seasonality. The right materials are always in the right place.

Exception-Based Priorities

Planners focus only on what matters: the few items in red that require attention. Routine replenishment is automated.

Supplier Collaboration and Stability

With stabilized demand signals and clear visibility, suppliers receive consistent, realistic orders — reducing the bullwhip effect and improving reliability.

Data-Driven Decision Making

Integrated analytics and dashboards now allow management to see stock health, replenishment trends, and warehouse performance at a glance.

“We created a new way of planning materials — centralized, data-driven, and clear. Planners now use Intuiflow to monitor buffers and set the right stock levels.”

— A2A / Unareti

The Results: 30% Lower Inventory, 3× Fewer Stock-Outs, and Millions Unlocked

After one year of full implementation, A2A achieved measurable, lasting improvements across its supply chain:

• 30% reduction in total inventory, freeing millions in working capital for new infrastructure investments.
• 6× reduction in critical planning situations, improving operational stability.
• 3× reduction in stock-outs, ensuring materials are available when and where they’re needed.
• No investment projects delayed due to missing parts.
• Standardized planning logic across electricity, gas, and water divisions.

Perhaps the most profound change was cultural: planners and technicians shifted from reacting to crises to managing flow by exception.

“We moved from random outcomes to a scientific way of making decisions. Today we know exactly why material is where it is — and that’s a huge change.”

— Federico Mauri

Turning Materials Management into a Strategic Advantage

A2A’s transformation shows what happens when a utility built for yesterday’s stability adopts a demand-driven operating model designed for today’s complexity.

By implementing Intuiflow, A2A didn’t just digitize procurement—it redefined how work flows from supplier to field technician.

Planning became synchronized, execution became predictable, and data became actionable.

What once caused frustration and capital loss now fuels service reliability, efficiency, and sustainable growth.

Future-Proof Your Supply Chain with Intuiflow

A2A’s success shows how Intuiflow can help even complex, asset-heavy organizations bring order and predictability to materials management.

Intuiflow is a unified, demand-driven platform that connects materials planning, scheduling, and execution in real time. Instead of firefighting shortages or re-planning manually, planners see live priorities, AI-optimized buffers, and one shared version of the truth across teams.

Intuiflow: One Platform. Four Core Solutions

Intuiflow’s four connected modules help companies improve flow across every level of planning:

• Materials Planning: Align inventory with true demand—prevent shortages and overstocks with AI-optimized buffers and automated replenishment.

• Scheduling & Execution: Sequence production and field work to actual capacity and real priorities.

• Sales & Operations Planning: Connect strategy, budgets, and operational reality with cross-functional visibility.

• Demand Planning: Adapt plans dynamically as market or consumption patterns shift.

Intuiflow is Smarter by Design

With Autopilot, Intuiflow’s embedded AI engine, inventory buffers and parameters are continuously tuned to reflect real-world changes—eliminating manual maintenance. Embedded analytics and Power BI dashboards deliver insight instantly, and integrations with existing ERPs and legacy systems keep deployment fast and seamless.

See how Intuiflow can help you centralize planning, cut inventory, and make operations more resilient.

👉 Book an Intuiflow Demo.