Digital transformation and reshaping the supply chain are strategic priorities for an increasing number of businesses. However, if this all sounds too time, labor, and cost intensive for your business, there’s a way to kick-start the transformation process and see an ROI within just a few months.
.
DEALING WITH VOLATILITY
We live in a variable, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world, and that isn’t likely to change soon. Anticipating customer demand and managing global supply in support of your corporate goals is as great a challenge as ever. With ongoing volatility on our collective minds, we cannot settle for anything less than leading sales and operations planning (S&OP) processes and supporting technologies.
.
Businesses need connected planning tools that:
- Allow for enterprise-wide what-if scenarios and give you the ability to act fast when inevitable disruptions and unplanned events occur
- Support coordinated and collaborative planning across business functions, divisions, and locations
- Help align business activities and objectives that are paramount to long-term success
- Forecast demand and supply or simulate alternatives, which creates the opportunity to make profitable decisions and flourish in an uncertain world
The SAP® Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP) application for sales and operations provides the technical capabilities to enable forward-looking planning during normal times and shorter-term planning during disruptive times. Your business can model alternative plans with a view of the overall impact of those alternatives. Make data-driven decisions instead of gut-driven reactions to surprises, such as those seen during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
.
Whether you are cost driven, volume driven, customer service driven, or some combination of the three, SAP IBP for sales and operations can help you safely navigate the waters of uncertainty and make profitable, forward-looking decisions for your organization.
.
ALIGNING FUTURE PLANS WITH BACKUP PLANS
You need to not only anticipate disruption but also act fast when it happens. With SAP IBP for sales and operations, you can balance supply and demand in near-real time and integrate financial and operational planning in one process. You can also link strategic and operational plans in a way that allows you to more easily manage inventory, service levels, and profitability. This enables you to take advantage of a real-time plan for effective operations, resiliency, and growth.
c
SAP IBP for sales and operations gives you better visibility into what’s ahead by running simulations of demand, supply, and financial charges. All things considered, you can predict and plan for a number of probabilities – from changing market conditions and product adoption to managing how much overtime you’ll incur.
.
Help bring your team together by combining input from finance, sales, marketing, and supply chain departments – so you can manage goals from every stakeholder and ultimately, improve performance.
.
FINDING A FASTER WAY TO GAIN REWARDS
With a faster implementation, you can see a faster return. SAP IBP for sales and operations can help you achieve the following benefits within months, not years:
- Higher profitability – Offer greater customer service while reducing inventory and waste, and gain the ability to meet financial targets faster.
- Better decision-making – Simulate demand and supply changes throughout the planning cycle for a better view of what works best.
- Shorter planning process – Automate data gathering and analysis and relevant information in the hands of decision-makers.
- Improved collaboration – Eliminate departmental silos, create consensus, and keep multiple teams focused on achieving the same goals.
- Smooth feedback loop – Align your departments to continuously improve operational and strategic plans.
You’ll also be able to instantly find the data you need for immediate decision-making. And because you’ve automated your processes and embedded AI and ML, you will relieve teams of repetitive tasks while training a system that gets smarter as you work faster.
.
Did you like this article? Share it with your network of contacts!
