Customer Success / CONSUMER PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING
Improving Demand Planning Agility for a Leading Consumer Products Manufacturer
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Bri Dascher
November 5, 2024
Introduction
Consumer products manufacturers operate in fast-moving environments where forecasting accuracy, supply chain responsiveness, and operational visibility directly impact customer service and inventory performance.
As organizations grow across product lines, retail channels, and distribution networks, disconnected planning systems and manual forecasting processes can create operational inefficiencies, increase IT dependency, and limit responsiveness to business changes.
Challenge
Disconnected planning systems limiting agility and responsiveness.
A leading North American consumer products manufacturer was looking to modernize demand planning and create a more connected planning environment within IFS.
Demand planning was being managed outside the organization’s core ERP environment, creating ongoing operational and technical challenges.
Manual Reconciliation
Manual reconciliation between planning and ERP systems created inefficiencies and delays.
High IT Dependency
Business users relied heavily on IT teams for data corrections and maintenance support.
Limited Forecast Visibility
Disconnected systems reduced visibility across forecasting inputs and planning activities.
Slow Planning Cycles
Monthly demand planning processes limited responsiveness to operational changes.
Turning Point
Creating a unified demand planning environment within IFS.
As the business continued to grow, leadership recognized the need for a connected planning foundation that could support operational efficiency while preserving existing workflows.
Rather than introducing additional disconnected forecasting tools, the organization partnered with Astra Canyon to bring demand planning into its existing IFS environment while modernizing the underlying platform.
Execution
Collaborative, practical, and aligned to business realities.
Astra Canyon partnered closely with supply chain, planning, and IT stakeholders to understand current workflows, identify operational pain points, and align the solution to day-to-day business operations.
01 – Unified Planning Environment
Brought demand planning directly into the existing IFS environment.
02 – Forecasting Configuration
Configured forecasting models across multiple product and customer categories.
03 – Workflow Modernization
Preserved key planning workflows while eliminating disconnected systems.
04 – Cross-Functional Collaboration
Improved collaboration between planners, business users, and IT teams.
05 – User Enablement
Supported adoption through workshops, testing, and role-based enablement.
Outcome
Faster planning cycles and stronger operational visibility.
Following deployment, the organization achieved measurable operational improvements across demand planning processes.
Results:
Demand Planning Reduced from 3 Days to ~1 Hour
Monthly planning cycles became significantly faster and more agile.
Reduced IT Dependency
Business users gained greater independence for planning activities and data management.
Improved Forecast Visibility
Teams achieved stronger visibility across forecasting data and planning inputs.
Faster Response to Operational Changes
Planners could react more quickly to forecast adjustments and supply chain changes.
Scalable Planning Foundation
The organization established a stronger foundation for continuous forecasting and long-term supply chain improvement.
WHY IT MATTERS
Connected planning environments improve responsiveness and scalability.
Consumer products organizations modernizing supply chain and planning operations need more than disconnected forecasting tools.
They need a partner who understands how planning, operational execution, and ERP systems work together to improve responsiveness, visibility, and long-term business scalability.
