SAP Innovation Awards 2024 -4456 - Walmart Mexico
Walmart implemented the SAP Integrated Business Planning application for demand (SAP IBP for demand) to streamline existing business systems and simplify the planning framework. As a result, a comprehensive, integrated, and collaborative business planning process was established, eliminating risk of system breakdowns and reliance on e-mail exchanges and offline spreadsheets. Download the DocumentPUBLIC
Entry Pitch Deck
Walmart Inc.
Retail
Revamping financial forecasts into accountable
and actionable commercial plans
Entry Pitch Deck
Walmart Inc.
Retail
Revamping financial forecasts into accountable
and actionable commercial plans
COMPANY NAME:
HEADQUARTERS:
INDUSTRY:
WEBSITE:
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES:
Company Information
© 2023 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC 2
Walmart Inc.
Bentonville, Arkansas
Retail
https://corporate.walmart.com/
2.1 million
Founded in 1962, Walmart Inc. offers quality products at low prices so
customers of all socioeconomic persuasions can live better lives. The retailer
has rapidly grown from one small mom-and-pop shop into a chain of
approximately 10,500 supercenters, discount department stores, grocery
stores, and e-commerce Web sites in 20 countries.
Operating as Walmart de México y Centroamérica, Walmart extended its
legacy across Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and
Nicaragua – and the region’s consumers are responding positively. Sales
volumes exceeded the region’s market growth over the last nine years while
solidifying customer loyalty.
As its retail footprint and sales volume continue to grow, the multinational
retailer prioritizes innovations that help ensure every customer can purchase
the products they want with greater ease, speed, and reliability in an
omnichannel setting.
HEADQUARTERS:
INDUSTRY:
WEBSITE:
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES:
Company Information
© 2023 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC 2
Walmart Inc.
Bentonville, Arkansas
Retail
https://corporate.walmart.com/
2.1 million
Founded in 1962, Walmart Inc. offers quality products at low prices so
customers of all socioeconomic persuasions can live better lives. The retailer
has rapidly grown from one small mom-and-pop shop into a chain of
approximately 10,500 supercenters, discount department stores, grocery
stores, and e-commerce Web sites in 20 countries.
Operating as Walmart de México y Centroamérica, Walmart extended its
legacy across Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and
Nicaragua – and the region’s consumers are responding positively. Sales
volumes exceeded the region’s market growth over the last nine years while
solidifying customer loyalty.
As its retail footprint and sales volume continue to grow, the multinational
retailer prioritizes innovations that help ensure every customer can purchase
the products they want with greater ease, speed, and reliability in an
omnichannel setting.
CHALLENGE: SOLUTION: OUTCOME:
Transforming forecasts into actionable plans
© 2023 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC 3
Of retail volume integrated into a unified
process and system, creating an
omnichannel framework
Reduction in hours dedicated to integrated
business planning (IBP) processes
Reduction in weighted mean absolute
percentage error (wMAPE) in forecasting
90%
Walmart Inc.
42% 3.6%
At Walmart de México y Centroamérica, rapid
growth has presented significant challenges for its
category managers. To consistently achieve both
market and financial goals, the business must
transition from a short-term mindset to a long-term
management approach. Reliance on offline
spreadsheets and data sources scattered across a
huge business environment led to a planning
process that needed frequent ad hoc data
conversions. The requirement became too resource-
intensive and time-consuming to maintain as the
number of participating internal stakeholders and
suppliers increased.
The company implemented the SAP Integrated
Business Planning application for demand (SAP IBP
for demand) to streamline existing business systems
and simplify the planning framework. As a result, a
comprehensive, integrated, and collaborative
business planning process was established,
eliminating risk of system breakdowns and reliance
on e-mail exchanges and offline spreadsheets.
Digitalizing Walmart’s integrated business planning
process empowers category managers to generate
demand plans based on revenue potential. This
transformation project enables omnichannel
collaboration among internal sales and distribution
teams and primary third-party suppliers. With
access to multiple data sources and inputs, category
managers can swiftly construct a comprehensive
sales plan and provide enhanced, company-wide
transparency into anticipated future demand.
Transforming forecasts into actionable plans
© 2023 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC 3
Of retail volume integrated into a unified
process and system, creating an
omnichannel framework
Reduction in hours dedicated to integrated
business planning (IBP) processes
Reduction in weighted mean absolute
percentage error (wMAPE) in forecasting
90%
Walmart Inc.
42% 3.6%
At Walmart de México y Centroamérica, rapid
growth has presented significant challenges for its
category managers. To consistently achieve both
market and financial goals, the business must
transition from a short-term mindset to a long-term
management approach. Reliance on offline
spreadsheets and data sources scattered across a
huge business environment led to a planning
process that needed frequent ad hoc data
conversions. The requirement became too resource-
intensive and time-consuming to maintain as the
number of participating internal stakeholders and
suppliers increased.
The company implemented the SAP Integrated
Business Planning application for demand (SAP IBP
for demand) to streamline existing business systems
and simplify the planning framework. As a result, a
comprehensive, integrated, and collaborative
business planning process was established,
eliminating risk of system breakdowns and reliance
on e-mail exchanges and offline spreadsheets.
Digitalizing Walmart’s integrated business planning
process empowers category managers to generate
demand plans based on revenue potential. This
transformation project enables omnichannel
collaboration among internal sales and distribution
teams and primary third-party suppliers. With
access to multiple data sources and inputs, category
managers can swiftly construct a comprehensive
sales plan and provide enhanced, company-wide
transparency into anticipated future demand.
© 2023 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC 4
With SAP IBP for demand, we're transitioning
from category-centric demand planning to an all-
encompassing process involving a greater
diversity of business areas. This shift immensely
benefits our users, empowering them to
enhance outcomes and foster productive
discussions on demand trends and corporate
expectations.
Sietze Terpstra
Integrated Business Planning Director – Walmart de México y Centroamérica
With SAP IBP for demand, we're transitioning
from category-centric demand planning to an all-
encompassing process involving a greater
diversity of business areas. This shift immensely
benefits our users, empowering them to
enhance outcomes and foster productive
discussions on demand trends and corporate
expectations.
Sietze Terpstra
Integrated Business Planning Director – Walmart de México y Centroamérica
GLOBAL CHALLENGES BUSINESS CHALLENGES
Challenges and Objectives 1 of 2
© 2023 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC 5
• The impacts of climate change, particularly extreme weather
events, drive sudden spikes in demand for specific products
within short, sporadic timeframes while simultaneously
disrupting supply chain and logistics operations.
• The surging popularity of online shopping and home delivery
services is reshaping consumer behavior, potentially influencing
sales for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.
• In response to high inflation rates, discount retailers are
increasing prices to uphold product quality and shopping
experiences.
• Rising prices significantly impact customers' buying habits and
price sensitivities, creating a prime opportunity for private-label
brands to offer an expanded range of quality products.
• As the supply chain moves toward an omnichannel space,
existing processes and business systems must be simplified to
boost productivity, efficiency, and cost effectiveness.
• Commercial teams need to seek out and seize opportunities to
source and stock a wider variety of seasonal products at the
lowest possible cost without impacting quality expectations.
• Category managers need to stay updated on retail and
consumer trends to help ensure they have sufficient notice to
deliver products that customers desire at a competitive price.
• Customer expect desired products to be in stock and delivered
on time – which is challenging to fulfill when working with
multiple distribution and store locations.
Challenges and Objectives 1 of 2
© 2023 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC 5
• The impacts of climate change, particularly extreme weather
events, drive sudden spikes in demand for specific products
within short, sporadic timeframes while simultaneously
disrupting supply chain and logistics operations.
• The surging popularity of online shopping and home delivery
services is reshaping consumer behavior, potentially influencing
sales for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.
• In response to high inflation rates, discount retailers are
increasing prices to uphold product quality and shopping
experiences.
• Rising prices significantly impact customers' buying habits and
price sensitivities, creating a prime opportunity for private-label
brands to offer an expanded range of quality products.
• As the supply chain moves toward an omnichannel space,
existing processes and business systems must be simplified to
boost productivity, efficiency, and cost effectiveness.
• Commercial teams need to seek out and seize opportunities to
source and stock a wider variety of seasonal products at the
lowest possible cost without impacting quality expectations.
• Category managers need to stay updated on retail and
consumer trends to help ensure they have sufficient notice to
deliver products that customers desire at a competitive price.
• Customer expect desired products to be in stock and delivered
on time – which is challenging to fulfill when working with
multiple distribution and store locations.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES WHY SAP
Challenges and Objectives 2 of 2
© 2023 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC 6
• Implement a cohesive, end-to-end technology-enabled strategic
and tactical company planning process aimed at driving
business growth
• Collaborate in real time with a wider ecosystem of internal and
third-party contributors to develop practical tactical plans and
align them with business strategies
• Consolidate hundreds of categories across regional stores,
warehouses, and channel formats by establishing new
hierarchies for product and customer dimensions
• Support planning horizons ranging from 2 to 18 months,
enabling high-level insights and detailed analysis
• Refine baseline forecasts by incorporating currency and product
quantity data with advanced simulation and calculation tools
• Translate final demand plans into executable quantities and
average pricing for supply planners
• SAP IBP for demand offers a user-friendly interface and smooth
integration capabilities, providing a unified platform for data and
processes.
• SAP is world-renowned for its business and technology
expertise and tailored engagement services.
Challenges and Objectives 2 of 2
© 2023 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC 6
• Implement a cohesive, end-to-end technology-enabled strategic
and tactical company planning process aimed at driving
business growth
• Collaborate in real time with a wider ecosystem of internal and
third-party contributors to develop practical tactical plans and
align them with business strategies
• Consolidate hundreds of categories across regional stores,
warehouses, and channel formats by establishing new
hierarchies for product and customer dimensions
• Support planning horizons ranging from 2 to 18 months,
enabling high-level insights and detailed analysis
• Refine baseline forecasts by incorporating currency and product
quantity data with advanced simulation and calculation tools
• Translate final demand plans into executable quantities and
average pricing for supply planners
• SAP IBP for demand offers a user-friendly interface and smooth
integration capabilities, providing a unified platform for data and
processes.
• SAP is world-renowned for its business and technology
expertise and tailored engagement services.