News 2010

Quintiq customer case study cited in Aberdeen Group report: Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) for Synchronized Planning and Performance

's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, August 17, 2010

Quintiq, a leading provider of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) solutions, joined forces with the Aberdeen Group in getting the report on “Sales and Operations Planning: Strategies for Managing Complexity within Global Supply Chains” published. One of Quintiq’s customers, SIG Combibloc, has been included in the report with a case study.

Read full report: Sales and Operations Planning for synchronized planning and performance

For many manufacturers, Sales and Operations are two separate worlds. This holds true for most industries, including food and beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, packaging, and textiles. In such companies, business forecasts are often based primarily on either market demand or supply capabilities, rather than on a combination of both. This disconnect makes it difficult to keep sight of overall objectives for profitability and productivity.

According to the Aberdeen Group report on Sales and Operations Planning, 59% of respondents indicate that improving top line revenue in 2010 (versus 45% of respondents in the July 2009 Sales and Operations Planning: Integrate with Finance and Improve Revenue report) was the top pressure driving attention and resources toward S&OP initiatives. The other key pressures that companies face with respect to S&OP processes include the need to reduce supply chain operating costs (53%) and the management of increasing demand volatility (49%), which creates the need for balancing.

”Sales and Operations Planning is a key requirement for managing the complexity within global supply chains. Our report has identified the key characteristics required for the success of the S&OP implementation along the three key dimensions of people, process and technology. Specifically around technology, the ability to model complex supply/demand constraints and optimize around it is critical. Also the ability for the solution to address the specific industry requirements is important since companies cannot afford to implement generic solutions in today’s cost constrained environment,” explained Nari Viswanathan, Vice President/Principal Analyst at the Aberdeen Group Supply Chain Management practice.

“Previously, plant managers couldn’t always see when a problem was developing. Now, everyone sees a bottleneck coming and deals with it much better, for example by shifting the volume to another plant or notifying customers of a change in the delivery times. Quintiq supports us in making fast decisions to find a better solution,” explains Carmen Zech, head of Global Resource Management at SIG Combibloc.

Victor Allis, CEO of Quintiq, comments: “Our research carried out with Aberdeen confirms once more that Sales and Operations Planning is one of the key solutions to a profitable supply chain. Our customers benefit from the unique Quintiq offering in having a 100% overview of what is happening at each selected part of their supply chain."

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions. As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the “customer optimization” process of Harte-Hanks (Information – Opportunity – Insight – Engagement – Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

About Quintiq
Quintiq provides advanced planning, scheduling and supply chain management software solutions. This fast-growing company, established in 1997, offers and implements software for planning and optimizing complex business processes throughout the enterprise. The company’s headquarters are located in The Netherlands, regional HQ in Philadelphia, USA and with subsidiaries in Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. Quintiq systems are implemented in 74 countries worldwide. More at www.quintiq.com.

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/quintiq