What they asked
Our client was the largest online retailer operating in the Benelux. They had experienced rapid growth in recent years, leading to an increasingly complex logistics footprint. They understood that a best-in-class forecasting process was key to developing their offering further. They therefore asked us to help them realise an integrated forecasting process that would cover business planning (budgeting) and operational planning for all departments.
What we did
We mapped all of their current processes and conducted deep-dives into performance to find key improvement areas. We then used these findings to redesign their business and operational planning processes, including budget, sales forecast, long-term capacity planning, short-term capacity planning, and their S&OP meeting framework.
This resulted in a change program of six workstreams currently being implemented by the client. We also worked with workstream owners to create a project charter for each workstream that includes what needs to be done, the business case, and team and planning/milestones.
What we accomplished
We helped our client improve their forecasting processes while also making a step-change in inter-department alignment using a formal S&OP process. This combination of better forecasting and transparent decision-making will enable our client to further grow their business with the best cost and performance levels.