In the manufacturing space, forecasting is essential to keeping businesses up and running. Not only does it help manage expectations, but it allows for the appropriate type and amount of materials, equipment to be maintained and resources to be allocated. However, even with the best sales teams on board, the forecasting process continues to be a common issue in this industry.

Infinity Info Systems recently had the opportunity to work with a leading electronics manufacturing organization dealing with the complexities and inaccuracies of the forecasting process. The national sales division of the organization found itself wasting time with an internal system that was inefficient, outdated and difficult to access and use.  However, in need of a way to communicate forecasting predictions, sales resorted to manually entering information into a series of hard to manage Excel spreadsheets. Using the spreadsheets, the organization could not respond to internal/external changes in a timely fashion, which quickly lead to goals being missed and issues with factory production.

The above example is just one aspect of what manufacturers deal with when it comes to forecasting. The diagram below shows some other common consequences that organizations face as a result of forecasting errors:

The implications of Forecast Error
(Photo credit SM Thacker & Associates Independent Best Practice Training & Consultancy)

To help this organization improve its forecasting accuracy and ultimately boost profits, Infinity suggested the following:

1. Use a CRM system for managing forecast versus Excel spreadsheets
2. Gain visibility to quotes and orders by integrating with your ERP system
3. Create simple queries in CRM to analyze pipeline, quotes, and orders
4. Create an interactive dashboard  to provide a graphical view of the forecast
5. Set a consistent process for forecasting – make it more science and less art

Below is a screenshot from the forecast tab in Infinity Analytics (the business intelligence dashboard created by Infinity) used to help the organization improve its forecast accuracy.With the help of Infinity Analytics, the sales team now has a consistent process for forecasting that can be done completely within their CRM system. No more Excel spreadsheets!

Does this sound all too familiar? Do these types of issues affect your organization and do you need help implementing similar change?  If so, I would love to speak to you about your business and show you how Infinity Info Systems may be able to invoke successful change!