Demand Planning for the Food Industry—Benefits of Oracle Cloud

One of the primary concerns in the food industry is managing the perishability of foods and the ingredients that make up finished food products. There are often instances when food is discarded because there is not enough demand for the finished goods. Inventory management is critical in the food industry since the expiration dates of the products are an added complication when food stocks, customer service levels, and fill rates.

Oracle Cloud Demand Planning include tools for effective shelf-life management, allowing companies to track and monitor inventory, based on expiration dates. By incorporating shelf-life data into the demand planning algorithms, companies can optimize their inventory levels and prevent product spoilage caused by expiring food and ingredients. This results in cost savings and improved profitability.

Many food products experience seasonal demand variations, from high demand for chili and soup in the winter months to high demand for ice cream during the summer. Promotional activities can also significantly impact consumer buying patterns. Even a forecasted cold winter or scorching summer can affect short to midterm demand for food.

Oracle Demand Management Cloud includes advanced forecasting and demand sensing capabilities that analyze historical data, identify seasonality patterns, and incorporate promotional events into the demand planning process. This will ensure sufficient stock is available during peak periods while optimizing production schedules.

The food industry often has new product introductions and frequent SKU rationalization due to changing consumer preferences, emerging food trends, and unpredictable events such as weather conditions or public health crises.

Oracle Cloud leverages advanced analytics to detect changing demand patterns and generate accurate forecasts. As a result, businesses can respond effectively to demand fluctuations and optimize their supply chain operations accordingly.

Several factors have increased food and commodity prices, including adverse weather conditions, high shipping costs, Covid lockdowns, and more. The Panama Canal, one of the world's busiest trade routes, recently experienced a significant bottleneck that echoes the challenges seen during the Suez Canal blockage in 2021.

Despite being in the midst of its rainy season, Panama is experiencing one of the driest seasons on record, severely affecting water levels in the canal. The canal relies on freshwater from neighboring lakes for its lock-driven operations. The low rainfall has led to lower water levels in the canal, prompting authorities to impose restrictions on vessel weights and daily traffic volume.

This bottleneck has raised concerns about potential disruptions in global shipping routes. Incidents like this highlight how climate, weather, and unforeseen circumstances can affect global supply chains. Experts emphasize that any increase in maritime choke points could threaten global supply chain networks, which have been recovering from pandemic-related disruptions.

Approximately 80% of merchandise in trade is moved via vessels over water, making supply chains susceptible to these bottlenecks and blockages. In response to such challenges, Oracle Cloud Demand Management offers a vital solution. It enables planners to promptly assess the impact of various factors, including price changes, marketing campaigns, weather fluctuations, surges in demand, promotions, and other events.

This dynamic forecasting approach empowers businesses to adapt swiftly to changing circumstances, ensuring accurate forecasts and resilient supply chains. In Oracle Cloud Demand Management, users can run an unlimited number of forecast simulations to immediately see the impact of price changes, marketing campaigns, weather shifts, demand changes, and other events to forecast more accurately.

Food safety and traceability are essential aspects in the food industry to ensure a business is compliant with industry regulations. Traceability data in demand planning can help enterprises identify potential quality or safety issues so that they can then take appropriate action. Oracle Cloud Demand Management provides end-to-end traceability solutions that enable businesses to track and trace ingredients, raw materials, and finished goods products throughout the supply chain process.

In summary, Oracle Cloud offers several tools and features that help with planning for food industry needs. It helps businesses deal with challenges like managing perishable items, predicting seasonal demands, analyzing demand changes, tracking products, and using advanced data analysis. With these tools available, businesses can improve their planning processes, manage inventory more effectively, reduce waste, and ensure regulatory compliance.

• Improved scheduling of production, transportation, and labor personnel.
• More control of operating costs and cost savings.
• Precise product pricing.
• Improved order fulfillment and turnaround.
• Significant savings on packaging costs--packaging is often SKU-dependent.
• More successful product launches.
• Reductions in safety stock (roughly by 10-20%.)

Accelalpha brings a unique blend of specialized knowledge and hands-on industry experience to the table, setting us apart from other Oracle software implementors. Here's why we stand out:

1. In-Depth Problem Understanding: Our approach is rooted in an intimate understanding of the challenges that companies face. We dive deep into the intricacies of each issue, allowing us to offer the most optimal solutions using Oracle software.
2. Industry-Centric Expertise: Our extensive experience within specific industries sets us apart. Many consultants focus solely on mastering Oracle products, but our team goes further. We have consultants with decades of work experience in the industries we serve, adding to our strength and authority.
3. Decades of Collective Wisdom: With over 50 years of combined experience in supply chain planning, our consultants bring a wealth of expertise to every project. This rich history allows us to tackle diverse situations across various industries.
4. Micro to Macro Understanding: We bridge the gap between macroeconomic insights and microeconomic application. For instance, we have consultants like Mark Strug, who previously served as a demand management planner in the food distribution sector. This hands-on experience translates into practical, effective solutions.
5. Adaptability in a Shifting Landscape: In the ever-evolving landscape of the food industry, we possess the know-how to navigate dynamic market changes. Our consultants are equipped to guide food companies through these complexities, ensuring they stay ahead of the competition.

Accelalpha's approach is not just about implementing Oracle software but about leveraging our profound understanding of industries and their unique challenges to drive transformative solutions. "By focusing on Demand Planning and Shelf-Life Inventory Management, our approach ensures the delivery of the highest quality product to the end customer precisely when it's needed. This commitment to quality is at the core of our service", says Mark Strug, a Principal ERP Consultant at Accelalpha who previously served as a demand management/S&OP specialist in the food and beverage manufacturing and distribution sector. This hands-on experience translates into practical, effective solutions and is the strength that defines our service and sets us apart.

If you're ready to discuss your specific demand planning needs and explore how Accelalpha can help your business, don't hesitate to schedule a consultation. We're here to assist you in optimizing your demand planning processes for improved efficiency and profitability.