Next Generation Demand Management

Preface

In today's volatile market, businesses are urgently seeking new ways to protect themselves and keep profit margins strong. External market factors are creating challenges, and manufacturers, perhaps more than most, are suffering from the consequences of that ripple effect. According to analysts' research, one of the highest-ranking challenges faced by CFOs is generating revenue growth and growing profit margin, yet CFOs believe it's not the right time to increase risk. As a result, companies are challenged with striking a fine balance between delivering growth while minimizing risk.

Meanwhile, as companies continue to strive to maintain market share and grow revenue it ultimately lies in the hands of the C-level and senior management teams to generate profitable growth across all levels of the business. Importantly, that includes organizations that manage the supply chain. There is a shift in focus influencing how companies are managing the supply chain, which is not simply about how supply drives demand, but how demand drives supply. It has been proven time after time that better predicting of the impact of demand on the supply chain increases revenues by at least 3 to 7 percent, and a third of companies could increase it by 6 percent or more.

For the entire business to become more demand-driven, it must secure better control over data and the ability to turn it into actionable insights. To gain a competitive edge requires a change in operational processes because companies ...