Archive for April, 2008
Integrated Business Planning, SAP and Steelwedge
In today’s world, the only certainties are information overload, rapid change and global integration. Corporate executives and planners are tasked with making key decisions in a world that involves far less predictability than ever before. The key to improving strategic decision making and planning processes requires vastly improved integration of organizations, functions, and information. No longer can silo-based planning processes co-exist. Finance, Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Operations and other divisions need to work together.
How is this achieved? Integrated business planning (IBP) provides the answer. By engaging all functions, pulling together disparate sources of information, and creating a trully collaborative planning and forecasting process, enormous progress can be made. Steelwedge offers a unique and effective approach to this problem. By integrating SAP FPM (Financial Performance Management) with SAP APO Supply Chain Management (SCM), Salesforce.com CRM information, and other tools, Steelwedge is able to drive a truly unified, “one number forecast” that engages organizations and builds consensus.
Steelwedge is realizing this powerful vision today by working closely with its customers as well as with SAP and other partners. What are your thoughts?
S&OP – is it only a process?
Many of our customers initially approach us seeking advice on creating functional S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) processes. Their questions relate to organizational and procedural issues and often do not involve systems or data issues. However, once we delve into the core issues it almost always emerges that a significant portion of the process challenges relate to the inability to collect and collate data. In the absence of sound data, S&OP planning quickly moves from the realm of fact-based decision making to speculation and guesswork.
We often see S&OP sessions devolve into subjective, opinion-based speculation over what the right response or answer should be. In today’s data-rich world S&OP business decisions need to be on facts. Collaborative forecasts processes and systems need to be in place to deliver timely market feedback. Steelwedge-type “slice and dice” views of the data and changes to the plan need to be accomodated quickly in order to provide executives with strategic feedback. Supply plans and scenarios need to be evaluated in light of profitability and practicality. Executive teams need to understand the financial implications of supply-demand tradeoffs. Decisions need to be made collaboratively yet quickly and on the basis of facts.
It is for this reason that S&OP systems such as Steelwedge have moved to the forefront. Leaders need to make valid decisions based on transparent, fact-based decision processes. Management needs to be able to quickly identify and react to issues. Changes need to be understood and accomodated. Supply plans must be balanced against evolving demand plans.
S&OP can no longer be just a stand-alone process – systems delivering rock-solid planning information must exist as a backbone and organizations must be engaged.
How “One-Click-Planning” solution can augment SAP to drive executive Sales and Operations Planning processes.
Steelwedge Software today announced a new product release for its Sales Planning & Performance Management (SPPM) solution featuring One-Click-Planning” TM. One-Click Planning features a new Steelwedge Planning Work Center that provides users visibility to critical planning, transaction and performance management data required to execute the S&OP process.
One Click Planning enables global enterprises to achieve maximum financial and operational performance from their S&OP process by providing executives and users the ability to go directly from an email alert to value-added planning and exception resolution. “One-Click-Planning enables Steelwedge to build on its leadership position in the S&OP marketplace”, said Steelwedge VP, Product Management Chris Givens. “Based on our strong track record in helping enterprises enable collaborative sales forecasting and bridging the gaps between sales and operations, our customer feedback was a key driver for us to enhance our existing workflow and adding the new work center, to be more streamlined, user friendly and configurable.” “Existing Steelwedge customers and prospects are extremely excited about the new release because it will have a significant impact on their S&OP processes and financial and operational performance”, said Steelwedge CEO Glen Margolis.
“While our current Steelwedge solution is critical to enabling the collaborative sales forecasting and operations planning process, we are pleased with Steelwedge “One-Click Planning”, which further streamlines our planning efforts, providing quick access to the information we need to make faster decisions that impact the bottom line,” said the COO of a leading high technology manufacturer and Steelwedge customer. One of the long standing challenges of S&OP is to provide an automated workflow driven solution that engages executives and planners across multiple functions to update plans on a scheduled and exception basis.
One-Click-Planning uses email alerts with direct access to secure role based planning information to simplify and streamline the S&OP process and increase cross-functional participation from executives to planners. The new planning work center brings together critical information required for users to easily execute their monthly S&OP process including: Steelwedge S&OP Work Tasks, Planning Templates, Performance Dashboards and Exception Monitor.
As a Certified SAP Partner, the Steelwedge S&OP Release 4.5 is schedule for general availability on Jun 30, 2008. The beta version will be showcased at the upcoming Steelwedge Solutions Summit on May 19-21, 2008 in Pleasanton California.
S&OP, Forecast Consolidation and the European Economic Community
I just returned from a ten day whirlwind tour of Europe during which time I met with sales prospects and partners in England, Sweden, Germany and France. One message resonated loud and clear – European companies still tend to operate on a country-specific basis. Systems are disparate, processes are inconsistent, and collaboration on forecasts and plans is limited. However, competitive and regulatory pressures are forcing companies to integrate processes, consolidate planning and improve forecasting.
Today this process is largely done in spreadsheets. However, all parties agree that sales and operations (S&OP) roll-ups, plan consolidation, and forecast collaboration require immense amounts of manual work. Dozens of different perspectives and users exist not to mention disparate ways of being organized across countries. When shown the Steelwedge way – co-option of existing spreadsheets through the adoption of Steelwedge Enterprise Enabled Excel spreadsheets, European managers become extremely excited. For the first time they see a solution that meets security requirements, that can eliminate months of latency in demand signals, can allow improved inventory practices, and better bottom-line forecasting. Not only that, but a solution that is extremely configurable, flexible, and cost-effective.
The Europeans are investing – how long will it take for our European user-base to surpass our US user-base?
SAP looks to Steelwedge to support Sales and Operations Planning Initiatives
SAP-related executives consultants, and clients are increasingly looking to Steelwedge to solve their S&OP (sales and operations planning) initiatives.
Frustrations related to SAP’s long-vaunted S&OP xApp, the decision by Microsoft in regard to support of SAP’s S&OP solution and other factors are driving SAP custommers to seek new solutions for this mission critical problem. As a Certified Powered by Netweaver SAP partner and the leading provider of S&OP to SAP r/3 and SAP APO customers, Steelwedge is increasingly filling the very important role of providing S&OP, collaborative sales forecasting and sales performance management solutions that complement SAP solutions, leverage investments in SAP, and ensure executive visiblity into critical business challenges.
Steelwedge is unique in its ability to quickly tie together and integrate information from disparate information sources, provide clear performance feedback, balance supply and demand scenarios, and drive executive S&OP.
What is y our experience with SAP and S&OP?
Steelwedge partners with Syncron to Extend Global Reach into Northern Europe
Steelwedge has partnered with Syncron to extend the global reach of its leading Sales and Performance Management solutions into Northern Europe. As the undisputed leader in Sales and Operations Planning Solutions (S&OP) and Collaborative Sales Forecasting, the partnership with Syncron will enable Steelwedge to expand its global reach and maintain a local presence in key Scandanavian and Northern European markets.
Synron, Northern Europe’s fasted growing software company, will provide Steelwedge clients with the access to leading-edge aftermarket service, supply chain execution, and price management solutions. Syncron clients include major multinational manufacturing companies such as Volvo, Volkswagen, Renault, Honda, Alfa Laval, Sandvik, Tetrapak, Electrolux, and Astra Zenaca.
Steelwedge CEO Glen Margolis commented that “the Syncron-Steelwedge partnership offers companies the opportunity to access the world’s best technology for end-to-end supply chain and sales planning. The unique combination also offers SAP-users an efficient, effective, and rapid way to automate manual processes and augment SAP transactional solutions.”
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