Create demand forecast

In this process steps, a demand analyst develops an unconstrained forecast of future demand based on multiple demand streams using statistical forecasting techniques and / or multiple linear regression, which generates a forecast using unlimited causal factors. Different forecasting methods can be combined using composite forecasting.

Create order forecast

In this step, retail point-of-sales (POS) data, inventory data, causal information as well as information on planned promotions and other events are used to create an order forecast. In a subsequent step, retailers and manufacturers share their respective order forecasts in order to identify potential exceptions. This process step is supported through Demand Planning, which is used to generate a statistical demand forecast based on POS data or using causal factors based on multiple linear regression.

Employee Roles

 Demand Planner

Promotion & Life Cycle Planning Planning

The promotions can be generated in SAP APO Demand Planning leveraging its toolbox of promotion planning techniques. The one time events or repeated events like Advertising, Trade fairs/discounts, product displays, coupons, contests can be incorporated at aggregated or disaggregated levels. Further to that system faciliates to incorporate forecast based promotions or quantitative promotions.

Life cycle Planning supports new product introduction and the runout of products.

Review marketing and sales activities as part of consensus meeting

Such an interactive feedback loop as described above has an impact that goes well beyond forecast accuracy. For instance, based on feedback from distributor/customer, stating that varitions in requirements and schedules, marketing may cancel or add a promotion considered for an item in additional demand. Revised plans can be done for additional capacities or cancellation of certain unfeasible demands

Front end agreements

Typically does not require any system support. Document exchange could be supported through SAP Knowledge Management especially in public and private marketplace scenarios.

Joint business plan

Typically does not require any system support. Source system for Business Plan could be a Category Management solution.

The Output of the Joint Business Plans such as category role and tactics as well as the item management profile containing information such as order minimum and multiples, inventory policies, targeted customer service levels, lead times and order intervals, shipping rules etc will be part of the extended supply chain to be modeled in the SAP Advanced Planner and Optimizer for each product / location combination, further to this  modelling can be done for beginning and end of product's life cycle based on phase-in and/or phase-out schedules to consider the introduction, growth, maturity, saturation and decline.

In other words, individual item management profiles down to the SKU and store level can be modeled with the solution. This information will serve as input to the supply and distribution planning, as well as truck load building processes.

Exchange Promotion, Forecast and Collaborate on exception

The exception criteria can be flexibly defined in both SAP APO Demand Planning and Supply Planning using both standard alert definitions and through advanced macros. Highly flexible workflow processes can be automatically triggered based on alert situations. Typically, the workflow capabilities are used to send an e-mail to the collaboration partner concerned together with a hyperlink to a web-enabled planning book. Log-on information individual to the collaboration partner ensures data security and defines the data visible and editable for each collaboration partner. The alert monitor structures exception situation according to priority for the user and provides direct access to the respective data sets. Data granularity and data views can be flexibly configured for each collaboration partner. A graphical view and alert symbols individual to cells direct the planner`s attention to exceptions. Qualitative data can be shared individual to characteristics combinations using notes management. Upon saving, the next workflow step is triggered and the data is immediately visible to the collaboration partner. Once a work item is closed, the agreed forecast can be transferred into the partner system using push or pull data transfer.

Employee Roles

 Demand Planner

Collaborative Supply and Distribution Planning

Identify and resolve the exceptions to the forecast, involving manufacture's constraints in delivering the specified volumes, creating an interactive loop for revising the orders.

Such an interactive feedback loop as described above has an impact that goes well beyond forecast accuracy. For instance, based on feedback from operations, stating that capacity or material is not sufficiently available to fulfill demand without capacity expansion through contract manufacturing, marketing may cancel a promotion considered for an item in short supply and redirect associated marketing spending to items with high inventory. Similarly, the sales force may be incentivated in terms of which products to push. The inclusion of operations in the planning process increases in importance for businesses constrained by supply, labour and / or material / components.

Make the feasible product availabilty and delivery schedules to distributor/customer on web.

Create demand forecast

The demand forecast can be generated in SAP APO Demand Planning leveraging its toolbox of statistical forecasting techniques. Further to that, the system can incorporate unlimited causal factors (events, price changes, environmental factors etc) to generate a demand forecast using multiple linear regression. A multi-dimensional data model allows companies and marketplaces to flexibly model business partners down to the customer / store level.

Create order forecast

In this step, retail point-of-sales (POS) data, inventory data, causal information as well as information on planned promotions and other events are used to create an order forecast. In a subsequent step, retailers and manufacturers share their respective order forecasts in order to identify potential exceptions. This process step is supported through Demand Planning, which is used to generate a statistical demand forecast based on POS data or using causal factors based on multiple linear regression.

Employee Roles

 Demand Planner

Review Promotions and Sales Forecast

In this step the base line forecast and promotions are shared with distributor/customer for review and to achive the best service objective to derive the order forecast.

Collaborative Demand Planning