Demand Performance

Are you tired of hearing about the sluggish and challenging economy? You're not alone. Despite a downturn in software sales (see "Analyst News" on pg. 8) select consumer goods companies are marching forward with new supply chain software implementations in an effort to improve demand visibility.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE

For North America's largest private-label liquid cleaner manufacturer KIK Corporation, an outmoded forecasting system forced the company to rethink its demand planning initiatives. Implementing a new, corporate-wide forecasting system to replace the old, the company turned to Demand Solutions.

"We chose Demand Solutions because it is ideally suited to the size of our business and can grow as we grow," says David Cynamon, chief executive officer, KIK. "Its ability to improve, automate and shorten our forecasting cycle helps us meet our inventory and sales objectives while enabling us to continue to serve our customers effectively and efficiently."

BAKED GOODS BOOST

In order to boost forecast accuracy, Otis Spunkmeyer, a leading baked goods manufacturer, selected Demantra, a provider of consumer demand-driven supply chain solutions to replace its former Excel spreadsheet system. Demantra's demand management solution provides a collaborative environment that offers increased visibility into the supply chain, allowing Otis Spunkmeyer to optimize inventory levels by analyzing historical trends and patterns down to the SKU level.

"We required a system that could generate accurate, statistically based forecasts, at the SKU level, thus reducing forecast errors, which would allow us to spend more time planning and less time chasing information," says Jeanine Viani, Otis Spunkmeyer's director of network planning.

By allowing Otis Spunkmeyer to effectively collaborate internally, Demantra's solution was a "quantum leap" for the company within its planning process. Forecast responsibility was pushed to lower levels of the organization without losing either executive input or accountability.

The Demantra solution improved forecast accuracy for Otis Spunkmeyer by 25 percent and increased inventory turns from 13.7/year to 15.5/year. Inventory coverage reduction planned from 3.8 weeks to 3.4 weeks and human error was also reduced.