Case Studies > OMNI-CHANNEL Sales Forecasting with New Product Introductions

OMNI-CHANNEL Sales Forecasting with New Product Introductions

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

Asia

Country

China

Product

Vanguard Predictive Planning
Sales Forecasting solution

Tech Stack

Global mesh network
Comparable Forecasting
Spread Curves
Supersessions

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Customer Satisfaction
Productivity Improvements
Digital Expertise

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Functional Applications - Inventory Management Systems

Applicable Industries

Consumer Goods
Retail

Applicable Functions

Sales & Marketing
Business Operation

Use Cases

Predictive Replenishment
Demand Planning & Forecasting
Supply Chain Visibility

Services

System Integration
Software Design & Engineering Services

About The Customer

One of the largest athletic footwear companies in the world, this organization boasts a vast portfolio of high-fashion products, particularly in the Asian market. The company operates an extensive network of omnichannel sales, including direct ecommerce, brick-and-mortar stores, and a worldwide network of distributors and retailers. With employees spread across the globe, the company faces the challenge of coordinating efforts among teams that speak various languages and use different processes. The company is known for its high product style turnover and frequent new product introductions, which add complexity to its supply chain planning. The organization sought a solution to unify its planning processes and improve the accuracy and reliability of its sales forecasts.

The Challenge

One of the largest athletic footwear companies in the world faced supply chain planning challenges typical for their industry. Boasting an enormous portfolio of high-fashion products, particularly in the Asian market, the company's planners struggled to keep up with high product style turnover and countless new product introductions. Additionally, they faced planning obstacles brought on by an extensive network of omnichannel sales including direct ecommerce, brick and mortar, as well as a world-wide network of distributors and retailers. Employees across the globe were working in silos, speaking various languages, and using different processes. The company required a solution that would support the input of critical insights from the Sales teams about changes in the market like new customers, retailers, channels, trends and products. Attempts at data-gathering and analysis in a siloed environment had resulted in lack of c-suite confidence in the forecasting and planning processes. The company needed a planning system that was flexible, unified, and supported a global rollout.

The Solution

The footwear company approached Vanguard Software with its current state of challenges and was quickly impressed with the speed, flexibility, and reliability of the Vanguard Predictive Planning platform. They were particularly happy to know the system supports 100+ languages and utilizes a global mesh network, which made it the only system that could meet their planning requirements. Vanguard Software deployed the Sales Forecasting solution, starting in China and further expanding region by region. The roll-out took the greater part of a year, ensuring all teams received functionality specific to their challenges and needs, while maintaining the integrity of a unified environment across the enterprise. To address the need for accurate new product forecasting, Vanguard Software brought to the table over two decades of new product forecasting experience applying Comparable Forecasting, Spread Curves, and Supersessions to hard-to-predict product launches. At the end of the project, the company gained a fast, reliable, Sales Forecasting engine that supports Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR).

Operational Impact

After the implementation of Vanguard Predictive Planning, the c-suite not only gained a single version of the truth, but improved their overall confidence in business forecasting and planning.
Through network collaboration, advanced NPI techniques, and the consolidation of key insights from Sales, the executives have gained new trust in the data and trust in the forecasting system.
They now have a better pulse on the health of Sales across the organization and are looking to expand their investment to other areas of the business including demand and supply planning.

Quantitative Benefit