Guest Author: Ashleigh Bradley, Sr. Consultant at enVista

For most companies, spreadsheets are the starting point for their supply chain planning process. They’re low cost and have a quick user adoption rate. For a new business, spreadsheets are very manageable as the SKU assortment is small, historical data does not go back very far, and the customer base is limited. Data is quickly pulled into the spreadsheet and simple formulas are added to get a useful output for the business’s planning process.

But as your company begins to grow, the amount of data becomes increasingly larger and harder to manage. Pulling data takes hours instead of minutes. The formulas begin to break as more users begin working inside the spreadsheets. Now instead of having a low-cost but highly impactful planning process, your spreadsheets are costing your company time and money. You’re now unable to make quick decisions, resulting in a delay in inventory or missing the major promotion with your top customer. It’s time for your business to look past the spreadsheets and towards contemporary planning software that can work for you and your employees instead of against them.

Benefits of Using Supply Chain Planning Software vs. Spreadsheet Planning

1. A centralized location/data source between all supply chain teams
   1. Has part of your supply chain planning process been delayed after an employee was not using the most up-to-date version of a spreadsheet? Your supply planner thought that spreadsheet version “Forecastv12.Final” was the latest version but your demand planner forgot to send them the actual latest version, “Forecastv12.Finalv1”, due to a last-minute change from new sales team input. With a contemporary supply chain planning software your team never has to worry about having the most up to date data. Changes from any part of your supply chain will be automatically updated in real-time and passed on to the other parts of your business.  
2. Planners can spend more time reviewing the outputs of the software instead of managing the input and data validation with spreadsheets
   1. A supply chain software can automatically pull required data from a business’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system as well as return any additional data for cross-functional activities. Instead of asking planners to refresh master data on a monthly or weekly basis, the planning software can update daily allowing all parts of your supply chain to see the most up-to-date data possible. This can also help to eliminate the data silos that can occur cross-functionally.
3. Standardization of planning process procedures and reporting
   1. Supply chain software can help drive standard process procedures in a few ways. Senior management can set up workflows or planning tasks that can be assigned to certain users. This will ensure all members of each supply chain function are following the same process when performing day-to-day responsibilities. This can also come in handy for training new employees.  Reporting templates can be set up for standardized reporting across teams. Inventory or forecast metrics can be predetermined by senior management that different teams are required to review and report on.
4. Forecast accuracy metrics and inventory metrics
   1. Supply chain software can quickly calculate desired supply chain metrics so your team can spend time reviewing and actioning the results instead of spending time creating the results. Some software can aggregate metrics up or down depending on who is reviewing the information.
   1. To track supply chain planning progress, there should be targets for your team to work towards. Forecast and inventory metrics are the tools to measure how healthy your supply chain is. Forecast accuracy metrics can help your business reduce inventory holding costs and improve customer fill rates.
5. Ability to save and document different versions of your supply chain plan
   1. Planning software can take snapshots of prior versions of the system so it’s easily accessible to compare to the current plan. Instead of pulling up multiple spreadsheets and trying to combine them for analysis, the software can store all the data you need and analyze you. Reviewing prior versions of your demand forecast vs current forecast is a good way to understand gaps or excess in inventory. Most software also offers a notes or documentation tool so planners can add reasons for changes or qualitative information that influenced the changes to forecasts creating an audit trail. This will help to eliminate tribal knowledge and the planning software will start to become the information hub of your business. So as planners move on to other roles, important information is stored in an accessible location.
6. Scenario-based planning capabilities before making key business decisions
   1. Before a major business decision is made, a business usually wants to vet through all the downstream impacts. This can be done with scenario planning capabilities of a supply chain planning tool. The tool allows a planner to make different changes to versions of a baseline plan and compare the downstream effects of each change.
      1. For example, if sales anticipates demand will increase by 20% in the next two months, a planner can add a top line lift to the demand forecast and ask supply planning if there will be enough inventory available to support the increase. Another example is comparing safety stock strategies to see the impact of the business’s inventory holding costs.

While spreadsheets may serve as a convenient starting point for supply chain planning in smaller businesses, they inevitably become cumbersome and inefficient as companies grow. The transition to contemporary supply chain planning software offers numerous advantages, including centralized data management, streamlined processes, standardization, improved forecasting accuracy, version control and scenario-based planning capabilities. By embracing modern technology, businesses can empower their teams to make faster, more informed decisions, ultimately driving efficiency, agility and competitiveness in today’s dynamic market landscape.

Want to learn more? Contact enVista today – let’s have a conversation.®