Global supply chains have suffered many disruptions in the past three years, and the disruptions seem to keep on coming. To regain some control companies must build their supply chain resilience and digitalisation is one critical component in that effort.
From cutting costs to keeping consumers happy, forecasting is a vital component of supply chain management, enabling businesses to anticipate future demand and make informed inventory decisions, for example setting the right safety stock levels to meet unexpected spikes in demand without tying up unnecessary capital or accounting for longer lead times and price fluctuations.
In the digital age, data is the key to effective supply chain management, but not in its raw form. It needs to be translated into actionable information to unlock the potential benefits. ERPs hold a lot of data, but they lack the capability for the analysis and automation required to get the most from the data. That’s where spreadsheets tend to become the default options for many companies. Spreadsheets are a powerful tool, but trying to manage a large and growing list of SKUs on a spreadsheet is challenging for even the most seasoned inventory planner.
We recently hosted a webinar detailing the limitations of spreadsheets when it comes to accurate forecasting and also showed examples of how digitialisation, specifically the implementation of inventory optimisation software, can benefit businesses and make their forecasting and planning processes both quicker and easier.
Read more about forecasting in these blogs:
5 Reasons Not to Rely on Spreadsheets for Forecasting
Forecasting: Using Both Internal & External Data