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By integrating retailer sales and inventory data into SAP IBP, Alloy.ai and Westernacher help CPGs improve shipment forecast accuracy and achieve better inventory planning through real-time demand sensing.
MASSACHUSETTS – August 19, 2024 – Westernacher & Partner Consulting, Inc., a leading provider of supply chain consulting services and SAP Gold Partner, with dozens of supply chain implementations in the retail & wholesale industry, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Alloy.ai, a leading supplier of data integration and retail analytics solutions for consumer brands. This collaboration aims to deliver a joint go-to-market strategy that combines SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP) with Alloy.ai’s integrations with 100s of retailers and ecommerce partners, to offer enhanced supply chain solutions to the consumer-packaged goods (“CPG”) industry.
“Before you embrace AI in purchasing”
Before diving into the embrace of AI in purchasing, however, a crucial step is to digitize our process Source to Pay. This is foundational, without which any AI efforts may prove ineffective or even counterproductive. Just as the Facebook application needs access to the internet to provide users with interaction and platform usage, AI similarly requires a solid digital foundation to function effectively. The digitized Source to Pay process provides the necessary data, forming the basis for AI operation. Consequently, AI can analyse historical purchasing data, forecast trends, identify optimization areas, and automate routine tasks. Without this foundation, AI lacks the context and information needed to make informed decisions.
This solution will allow CPG supply chain and demand planning teams to forecast and deploy inventory with real-time visibility into sales and inventory levels across all their retail partners — a piece critically missing from today’s supply chain and planning solutions. Brands can now align their inventory plans to levels of consumer demand through better demand sensing based on retailer point-of-sale data.
“For decades, Westernacher has been committed to leveraging advanced supply chain technologies to deliver innovative solutions for SAP customers,” said Alexis Lozada, Practice Director, Supply Chain Planning. “By integrating Alloy.ai’s capabilities with SAP IBP, we aim to deliver solutions that help businesses achieve greater efficiency and agility in their supply chain operations.”
With SAP IBP and Alloy.ai together, customers will achieve higher service levels, reduced excess inventory levels, and more cost-effective deployment plans.
“It’s never been more important to plan and execute using the most accurate, real-time view of consumer demand possible,” said Joel Beal, CEO and Co-founder of Alloy.ai. “Companies that use point-of-sale data in their forecasting improve their accuracy and reduce problems with out-of-stock and excess inventory. This data is a force multiplier for SAP customers.”
About Westernacher Consulting
Westernacher Consulting is a global consulting firm specializing in SAP solutions with over 50 years of industry experience. Headquartered in Germany, Westernacher has a strong presence in over 20 countries. The firm offers a wide range of services including business transformation, and comprehensive end-to-end SAP solutions implementation and support. Westernacher’s mission is to deliver innovative solutions that drive business efficiency and growth.
About Alloy.ai
Alloy.ai is purpose-built to help consumer goods brands sell more products, save time and solve complex supply chain challenges. Alloy.ai ingests point-of-sale data from 100s of retailers, ecommerce partners, distributors, and a brand’s own ERP, then lets them integrate normalized, real-time data into data warehouses, analytics, planning solutions and more. With these insights brands can sense problems, predict opportunities, and respond instantly. Alloy.ai is trusted by companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to digital natives, including Crayola, Bic, Valvoline, RTIC, Bosch and Melissa & Doug. Customers routinely achieve a 35%+ reduction in out-of-stock, a 5%+ bottom line impact and millions of dollars in incremental orders with their retail partners.
