They say the sky is the limit. But is it, really – especially if spreadsheets are the backbone of your demand planning efforts? If you're constantly firefighting and struggling to meet service level commitments?  

If you really want the sky to be the limit, it may be time to move beyond the limitations of homegrown spreadsheets and the limited capabilities of ERP to embrace a more powerful and reliable forecasting process.

Relying on spreadsheets for demand planning can be a double-edged sword. While they offer familiarity and ease of use, they fall short in handling the complexities of the real world. And as you may know, accurate demand planning is crucial for any business to stay competitive. When done well, it leads to reduced costs, happier customers, optimized inventory, and increased profits.

This white paper will help you fully grasp the challenges of using spreadsheets for demand planning, and explore the benefits of adopting an automated, data-driven approach.

The foundational techniques of demand planning, such as regression analysis and statistical algorithms, are often performed using spreadsheets, but the limitations of these in terms of collaboration, error-prone manual processes, bias, and scalability cannot be overlooked. As companies evolve and strive to navigate today’s challenges, their planners require more sophisticated forecasting tools that can minimize errors, remove bias, foster teamwork, and make the planning process effortless.

Discover key insights for transitioning to a more comprehensive forecasting system and learn about the benefits of leveraging AI and machine learning to automate routine processes, ensure data consistency, and provide accurate predictions. Explore advanced capabilities that can further enhance your demand planning practices, including forecastability analysis, scenario analysis, probabilistic forecasting, and demand sensing.

In no time, you could be on your path to demand planning excellence, harnessing the latest technology to enable collaboration across the supply chain, while integrating internal and external data sources to generate real-time insights for superior decision-making. Not to forget the ability to run multiple demand scenarios, and significantly improve forecast accuracy.

Read this white paper to access valuable insights on the limitations of spreadsheets and embrace the change to a more powerful, automated, data-driven approach to demand planning to thrive in today’s environment.