In April of this year, we rolled out our Demand Planning module and we’re happy to announce that we’ve just made it even better with the new Package Forecasting feature!
This new update will make it simple to break down how the supply volume in the production forecast will be packaged out into salable goods. Need individual packaging formats for each brand? No problem. Brewers can now quickly allocate the packaging breakdown of their estimated production up to a year in advance.
The Demand Planning module has been a game-changer for brewers who have been utilizing this Beer30 functionality so far. This module matches up the sales forecast with the production forecast to give you a full year’s outlook into how much beer of each brand you’re going to need. This gives the Brewing and Production team crucial insight to adjust their production plans for each brand to ensure they produce the right amount of beer to hit the sales forecast.
By hitting accurate production levels to meet their sales forecast, brewers achieve two huge wins. First, it prevents the nightmare of running out of beer. This keeps sales teams happy, customers satisfied, and relationships with accounts and distributors strong. Secondly, it helps avoid the overproduction mess. Excess beer can clutter up the warehouse or even create a need for extra storage space and add more costs to your bottom line. Plus, by brewing excess beer, you run the risk of having your product go stale. With this module, breweries can fine-tune their production levels, keep beer fresh, free up warehouse space, and avoid tying up cash in stale inventory.
The Demand Planner also integrates with the Material Resource Planning (MRP) function for raw materials forecasting. That means that brewers can forecast their raw material purchasing needs up to a year in advance and close the loop on the brewing cycle.
The latest update to the Demand Planning module offers a whole new level of precision and coordination. Now, brewers have the ability to break down their Production Forecast volume into individual packaging formats for each brand. This ensures that brewers are not just brewing enough beer but also packaging it in the right formats to meet their sales forecasts precisely.
Not only does the Demand Planning module work with the MRP module for raw materials, but now it will connect for packaging inventory too. This means that planned packaging runs based on the production forecast will automatically drive the brewery's forecasted purchasing needs for packaging materials like cans, labels, and kegs.
By diving into production forecasting on the packaging level, brewers will have an added layer of sophistication in their planning process to ensure accuracy. You can make sure that you’re splitting batches down into the right formats and hitting the sales forecast.
By connecting the production forecast with MRP, ordering packaging will now be easier than ever. No more juggling spreadsheets or making educated guesses about future inventory needs. Breweries can now place bulk orders with confidence, knowing that their inventory forecasts are precise and directly linked to the production plan.
For Sales Teams, the advantages are equally important. With real-time inventory visibility already at their fingertips through Beer30, the new Demand Planning module update takes it up a notch. Sales Teams will be able to see their projected finished goods inventory before the beer is packaged (or for that matter, before the beer is even brewed).
With insight into future inventory levels of all their finished goods, the Sales Team will be able to easily coordinate future orders based on when stock will be available. When sales forecasts evolve, the Demand Planning module makes it easy for the Sales Team to see how their future inventory levels will be impacted.
Overall, the Demand Planning module bridges the gap between Sales and Production Teams, facilitating collaboration and alignment on the production plan. It ensures that both teams are on the same page, making it easier to adapt to evolving sales forecasts and understand how these changes will impact future inventory levels.
The Demand Planning module's new features bring a higher level of precision, coordination, and efficiency to brewery operations. Book a demo today to learn how these new features can help streamline production and sales at your brewery.
