Situation
Our client, the Irish office for a large Multi-National beverage producer, importer and distributor needed a solution that would assist their staff in planning their annual base, promotional price and volume forecasts and to compare these forecasts against actual sales figures.
This solution would also need to be capable of managing Annual Operating Plan (AOP) and Latest Estimate (LE) forecasts and to manage sales data coming from both an internal system as well as external sources.
The company wanted to manage their sales forecasts as accurately as possible.
The organisation had existing software systems in place but none had the capabilities to lend themselves towards forecast accuracy or to manage the actual’s data from disparate systems.
Having an existing long term business relationship with Olas, their Strategy & Planning Director contacted us.
Solution
Olas discussed the requirements with the client, offering honest advice and realistic options for a solution.
When our client decided to proceed with the Croí solution, Olas worked with them to ensure that they would receive a tool that would be simple to use yet scalable for future business growth.
Possibly unsurprising given its functionality, but to date, there has been complete buy-in from all staff on the solution. Croí has become the standard reporting tool used by all management and sales staff on a daily basis.
Now, senior management always know where the business stands at any point in time and how each rep has been performing.
Key Benefits at a Glance
• Used by all management and sales staff on a daily basis
• The organisation now has a vastly improved forecast accuracy
• Satisfaction with the solution since its launch has been such that it is now planned to roll out into other EU regions.
Key Features:
• Cloud based application that can be accessed by staff remotely
• Allows each ‘customer owner’ to plan monthly sales cost and volumes
• Allows reporting of monthly plans versus monthly actual’s
• Business Critical reporting capabilities:
- Year on Year P&L Reports
- Customer Discount Reports
- National & Regional Top Line Sales Reports
• Allows for scenario planning of sales volumes & returns
Technologies Utilised
• Cloud based solution
• Utilising existing Microsoft software.
• Usable on hand-held devices
• Reports to MS Excel
• Data copied to/from the following sources:
- Internal SAP systems
- Sales data supplied from external partners