The software from Aachen-based optimization specialist Inform significantly reduces the manual planning effort and the risk of markdowns and incorrect quantities. The decision-intelligent algorithms carry out 90 percent of basic planning independently.

When planning sales, promotions and deliveries, Privatkäserei Bergader relies on the Inform software ADD*ONE. This brings together all the information along the family company's supply chain and evaluates it using algorithms developed for sales planning. The mathematical-statistical processes find the best and most effective solution, even in complex situations, and create multidimensional sales plans with precision.

With the solution, Bergader plans dynamically and largely automatically. The private cheese dairy leaves 90 percent of the basic planning for its standard business to the algorithms - employees only intervene manually when items are added, removed or relisted and to react to bottlenecks or deviations in the quantities purchased. "With ADD*ONE, we map all processes in one system," reports Ludwig Streitwieser, Head of Sales Controlling at Bergader. "We have also succeeded in converting the planning so that the sales department is responsible for and maintains it. However, the biggest advantage of the new solution is that we can carry out very detailed analyses thanks to the largely automated and customer-specific planning. Our planning has become much more transparent as a result."

Due to product-related lead times and a heterogeneous customer landscape, the sales planning of articles requires complex planning decisions. Previously, these decisions were made on the basis of self-developed Excel files, which delivered good results but did not offer an interface to the sales department and were also very time-consuming and error-prone. Bergader was therefore looking for a cross-departmental solution for intelligent and largely automated sales planning.

The search ended with the decision-intelligent sales planning system Inform. All departments at Bergader, including sales, now work with ADD*ONE and plan flexibly and individually, regardless of whether it is about articles for specific product groups, customers and regions or sales, budgets and delivery quantities. Intelligent algorithms analyse the past data stored in the ERP system and calculate an optimized sales plan on a daily basis. If bottlenecks become apparent, the planning tool generates meaningful alerts and supports employees with tailored recommendations for action.

The new solution really came into its own at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when sales fluctuated on a weekly basis. During this difficult phase, Bergader shut down the last of its old systems and switched completely to algorithmic sales planning. This enabled the company to precisely forecast demand in the various customer groups and plan accordingly, significantly reducing the risk of markdowns and shortfalls.