Demand Planning: Does it Belong in the Supply Chain Cloud or On-Premise?

To successfully compete in today’s global business environment, enterprises must optimize their supply chain. A core element of supply chain optimization is demand planning; the process enterprises use to gain visibility into future customer demand. The streamlining of demand planning in fact plays a crucial role in achieving the goal of accurately predicting demand, forecasting revenue, and maximizing profits for each sales channel.

To achieve this goal, it’s vital for an enterprise to choose the best demand planning solution to meet business requirements. By making the right choice, strategically speaking, the enterprise can effectively forecast customer demand and increase product availability. Streamlining the demand process also allows an enterprise to better manage cash flow and shape profitability.

Additional benefits include efficient turns of inventory and order fills as your demand planning dovetails with marketplace activity. For an enterprise to achieve this level of success now and in the future, it’s important to select the correct demand planning solution. The options are Oracle Demand Management Cloud or Demantra Demand Planning.

Oracle Demand Management Cloud

Oracle Demand Management Cloud leverages intellectual property from Oracle’s Demantra application. Prior to Demand Management Cloud, Demantra was considered the best-in-class demand planning solution. As with Demantra, advanced capabilities include:

• Configurable aspects:
  • Hierarchies supporting demand aggregation and disaggregation
  • Metrics and workbenches
• Enhanced aspects:
  • Statistical capabilities
  • Embedded analytics
• Ability to streamline demand management daily functions using management by exception
• Simulation capabilities

 

Oracle Cloud Demand Management empowers users with an application experience that can be navigated without the need for technical assistance and support allowing for a lower TCO.

Oracle Demand Management Cloud: Four Key Benefits

• Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): 
  Cloud-based demand planning solutions eliminate the need for you to pay for IT infrastructure management or other associated costs.
• Access to Real-Time Data:
  Because your systems are integrated, you have streamlined access to precisely the data you need, available exactly when needed. Operational costs are reduced, and communication is boosted, both internally and externally.
• Streamlined Response Time:
  This is true even in volatile markets as your team accesses demand signals in real-time and can respond quickly.
• Avoid Business Interruption:
  Finally, your enterprise benefits from seamless upgrades. This allows you to continue doing business during upgrade periods, fulfilling customer orders, and reaping profits. Upgrades occur with as little business interruption as possible, typically during non-business days or, if during a business day, during non-peak hours.

 

Additional benefits of Oracle Demand Management Cloud include:

• Customer-centric solutions
• The common foundation supporting Supply Planning & Demand Planning
• Streamlined operational efficiencies
• Productivity improvements
• Faster implementations
• Quarterly updates and enhancements
• Additional cost savings
• Improved customer service
• Boosted security

 

Demantra Demand Planning

As previously mentioned, prior to Oracle Demand Management, Demantra was considered best in class, and for a time Demantra Demand Planning capabilities extended beyond the advanced features of Demand Management Cloud. During this period enterprises needed to determine if Oracle Demand Management Cloud could meet the business requirements or if Demantra was the correct solution. However, with regular quarterly updates and enhancements to Oracle Demand Management Cloud, the differences between Demantra Demand Planning and Oracle Demand Management Cloud are now negligible.

Enterprises needing to augment or enhance their supply chain applications or processes with a demand planning solution or need to upgrade their current demand planning solution should take a cloud-first strategic approach and focus on Oracle’s Demand Management Cloud solution.

Strategic Goals and Operations Align

Today, for an enterprise to be profitable, the enterprise must dovetail operations with strategic goals. Oracle Demand Management Cloud, fortunately, provides enterprises with the tools to analyze consumer demand in real-time at its most granular level. Analyses can occur closer to consumption points to provide an overall user experience that is tightly integrated.

The Argano Advantage

Argano consultants have an average of 20 years experience in implementing demand planning tools and deep industry knowledge of supply chain management applications and processes. The result: professional support that keeps your business moving forward, both strategically and from a daily operational standpoint. Our low turnover assures consistency of resources for every project, including yours.

Take Your Demand Planning to a New Level

Argano will provide your enterprise with a customized holistic solution specifically tailored to your demand management needs, filling in the gaps and giving you visibility over your entire global supply chain. We also collaborate with Oracle to create new tools for our customers, industry-specific to provide even more visibility to production, logistics, inventory availability, and more in the consumer goods industry.

Howard Engle