Accelerating forecasting speed with Oracle’s Auto Predict AI Technology and Oracle EPM Cloud
Client overview
B&G Foods is a leading manufacturer and distributor of shelf-stable and frozen foods across North America. With a diverse portfolio of brands and a complex supply chain, the company sought to modernize its forecasting and planning capabilities to improve agility and decision-making.
Challenge
B&G Foods faced limitations in its legacy planning systems, which hindered its ability to generate timely forecasts and respond quickly to market changes. The organization needed a scalable solution that could:
- Automate top-down forecasting.
- Integrate seamlessly with existing planning structures.
- Improve risk assessment and operational efficiency.
The company, headquartered in New Jersey, has relied upon manual, Excel-driven forecast processes. The Excel templates were inconsistent across business units, leading to a lack of standardization and transparency in forecast overrides.
Data consolidation and trade input management were time-consuming and delayed time-to-insight for finance and executive teams. The manual process also limited audit trail insights and version control across forecast cycles.
Solution
Alithya partnered with B&G Foods to implement a tailored solution that included the enhancement of B&G Foods’ Oracle EPM Planning Cloud application.
According to Glenn Durkin, Lead Business Analyst EPM for B&G Foods:
Alithya’s experienced consultants provided valuable guidance in the IPM (Intelligent Performance Management) space, enabling us to jointly configure Oracle’s predictive planning capabilities using IPM Auto Predict. The team was able to map complex source data and stage it in a very organized fashion. Further to that point we now have the appropriate inputs and levers to quickly produce high level Brand/Business Unit and Total Company forecasts, all of which are tied closely to the appropriate statistical model. Now, we can more quickly produce forecasts as well as view and analyze trends.
Oracle’s Auto Predict is an AI tool which empowers finance and operational users with data science optimized for multidimensional planning and forecasting use cases. The planning application enabled B&G Foods users to reduce budgeting and planning cycles and improve forecast reliability.
Auto Predict analyzes past data and predicted data, helping B&G find patterns and insights into data they might not have found on their own, including trends, anomalies, forecast bias, or variations.
Results
- Improved forecast accuracy: The IPM model delivers more reliable forecasts, enhancing planning confidence across departments. Forecasting cycles scaled from quarterly to monthly, and forecast processes are standardized across business units with centralized control.
- Operational efficiency: Automation reduced manual effort and improved responsiveness to market shifts. At the same time, B&G Foods gained increased visibility and auditability of forecast inputs and overrides.
- Predictive analytics: Alithya helped lay a foundation for predictive planning and future scenario modeling and improved user experience through structured web forms and task lists.
- Trend analysis: B&G Foods gained the ability to perform trend analyses on historical and third-party data.
- Full transparency: A new dashboard improved executive review and performance tracking.
Next steps
With the successful implementation of Oracle EPM Cloud and IPM forecasting, B&G Foods is positioned to expand its use of predictive analytics and explore additional automation opportunities. Alithya continues to support the client through ongoing check-ins and strategic planning sessions.
B&G Foods plans to apply the new technology and processes to third-party data sources in the future. They are also considering the implementation of IPM Insights to analyze past data and predicted data, helping organizations find patterns and insights into data that otherwise might not have been uncovered.
Learn more
Alithya has served as a trusted advisor to a multitude of manufacturing companies throughout North America. If you are interested in learning more about how we can help improve efficiency and profitability for your company, contact us today.
We have been providing strategic consulting, enterprise transformation, and business enablement expertise for more than 25 years. Whether you are just starting out on your digital transformation journey or planning to upgrade to the latest AI and IoT technologies, Alithya has the expertise and resources to help move you forward.