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Enhancing Supply Chain Efficiency with SAP IBP and CloudPaths—Part 1Jan 31, 2025 — Supply chain management is increasingly vital for organizations in a dynamic market. While many face challenges like fragmented data and skill gaps that hinder effective use of data analytics, solutions like SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP) are helping businesses improve their supply chain processes through a systematic and phased approach to data quality and integration.
4 minute read
Actionable insights into cash flow dynamics with Phocas’ 3-way forecastingMay 28, 2024 — For SAP users, maintaining financial health supports growth investments, secures strong credit ratings through timely debt repayments, and offers flexibility to adapt to market shifts, economic downturns, or unforeseen challenges. In the distribution sector, cash flow management is crucial due to the dynamic nature of inventory, accounts receivable, and payable cycles. This requires optimal inventory levels, timely collection of receivables, and efficient management of payables, supported by dynamic financial planning and analysis (FP&A) tools like Phocas Software, which integrates with SAP products.
Adequate cash reserves are essential for smooth operations and responding swiftly to market opportunities and challenges, while excessive reserves can hinder profitability and strategic investments. A three-way cash flow forecasting model, integrating the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement, provides a comprehensive view of financial health. This model is particularly valuable for wholesale distributors, enhancing forecasting accuracy by addressing the interactions between sales, inventory, and receivables. Phocas's three-way forecasting model includes financial mini-drivers—specific metrics that directly influence cash inflows and outflows—allowing CFOs to refine forecasts and gain deeper insights into financial performance.
2 minute read
Unifying Data Sources for Accurate Near-Term Demand Forecasting with Google CloudApr 29, 2024 — In the domain of demand planning within SAP systems, there is a growing recognition of the need to incorporate external data sources alongside traditional internal ones. This approach is encouraged by Google Cloud’s "Better Together" partnership with SAP, which promotes integrating external datasets, such as real-time weather updates and marketing trends, with SAP’s internal data. This integration helps organizations capture a fuller picture of the factors influencing demand, such as external events and consumer behavior shifts.
The use of Cortex Demand Sensing within this framework provides organizations with tools like impact alerts, which notify of forecast anomalies driven by factors like unexpected weather or promotional activities. Further, integration with Google Cloud tools such as BigQuery, Vertex AI, and Looker enriches data analysis, enabling the identification of key demand drivers and enhancing predictive model accuracy. This holistic data approach aids in optimizing various business aspects, including promotions, inventory control, and demand-supply balance, ultimately leading to better demand forecasting accuracy.
1 minute read
Building Demand-Driven Supply Chains with RevealJul 10, 2023 — Businesses employ a push-based supply chain strategy, driven by historical data or plant production capacity rather than effectively managing inventory to align with actual market demand. This approach often results in inefficiencies such as surplus raw materials, low inventory turnover, unproductive usage of storage space and ultimately leads to crisis management, reactive communication, and contributes to a production plan that doesn't accurately reflect consumer demand.
In contrast, transitioning to a pull-based supply chain strategy enhances business efficiency by accurately responding to customer requirements. This method promotes business agility, optimizes operational planning, and allows the learning from discrepancies to improve forecast accuracy. Additionally, a pull system promotes a unified management approach, utilizing a single data set and assumptions for business decision-making. A pull supply chain can generate a number of benefits including production accuracy, real-time production, shorter lots/cycles, inventory optimization, waste reduction, insights-driven management and proactive communication. Reveal proprietary methodology, oVo®, centered around value creation, assists enterprises in fine-tuning their procurement and manufacturing procedures to satisfy market demands. This approach encourages organizations to rely on a unified, authoritative data source for improved decision-making and streamlined operations.
3 minute read
Leveraging Machine Learning for Demand ForecastingMay 23, 2021 — Until recently, conventional time series forecasting methods have been predominantly used for forecasting in demand planning. A majority of demand forecasting tools in the market leverage these methods in their solutions. With advances in technology and computing power, the sophistication of these time series algorithms has increased thereby increasing forecast accuracy.
However, with the advent of machine learning (ML) tools and increased interest in exploring them to improve forecasting approaches and methods, many vendors are increasingly incorporating ML-based forecasting methods in their tools. A key aspect to remember is that most of the frequently used ML algorithms have been around for decades now. Technology and computing power today allow us to leverage them easily in a variety of ways and applications. This article shares some Machine Learning approches that are being used by SAPinsiders.
4 minute read
The Future of the Airline Industry in a COVID EnvironmentMay 20, 2020 — This article explores the impact that COVID-19 has had on the airline industry, how these companies are using SAP solutions to prepare for an uncertain future, and suggests how air travel may adapt as the industry adjusts to a new normal. Two experts from SAP weigh in on what they're hearing from the airline industry, including challenges and some insights about how processes, policies, and procedures may change moving forward.
“There will be additional constraints, border restrictions, and the number of people carried will have to account for social distancing requirements,” says Phil Te Hau, Vice President of Passenger Transportation at SAP. “The predictability of their current planning models will be disrupted, and changes to schedules and timetables will likely happen more frequently than before.” According to Torsten Welte, Global Vice President, Head of Aerospace & Defense, and Head of Travel & Transportation at SAP, the economic disruption caused by the pandemic has “exposed the criticality of digitalization in every industry.”
Read this article to learn more about:
- How route planning and profitability will change moving forward
- SAP solutions that are being implemented or used in a different way to meet current and changing needs
- Considerations that should be made as airlines prepare to invite employees back to the workforce
- Predictions for the future of air travel
8 minute read
Using Predictive Models to Prepare for the FutureApr 24, 2020 — The COVID-19 crisis has caused uncertainty in almost every aspect of business operations, but it has made one thing more clear: The need for businesses to adopt advanced analytics to survive in a digital environment. Known for its ability to work with various architecture frameworks, help businesses make data-driven decisions, and report in real-time, SAP Analytics Cloud had been identified as a solution that can help organizations move forward during times of uncertainty. In this article, two SAPinsider Contributors drill down into the solution’s features, including its machine learning and predictive analytics capabilities.
After reading this article you will be able to:
- Explain the different capabilities of SAP Analytics Cloud;
- Understand how different industries can use the solution to move forward in times of uncertainty; and
- Learn how data can help predict human behavior.
9 minute read