GPMS, Global Planning Management System

Comparing to 10 or 15 years ago, advanced ERP systems make it much easier nowadays for a typical large manufacturing company to manage smooth information and physical flows of sales and purchase orders across its global supply chain. With average 4-5 disparate ERP systems, however, it’s facing some new challenges in streamlining its supply chain planning (SCP) process from demand forecasting, supply planning to delivery and production scheduling.

A major barrier is created by “planning silos” as a result of the prevailing functional planning practices, which are built around the ERP systems and other legacy forecasting and planning applications over time. In such practices, sales or demand forecast is usually managed through a CRM application such as Siebel or Salesforce.com, supply plan in one or more ERP-based planning applications like Oracle and SAP’s APS (advanced planning solution), and delivery or production schedules likely in a different ERP system at the outsourced manufacturing sites. As a consequence, it takes a significant amount time (up to 60% in some companies) for SCP managers, planners and operational analysts to constantly make manual adjustment in demand, supply plans and delivery schedules. The problem is that manual intervention interrupts the planning process and it rarely works in such a global supply chain environment. Low quality of forecast and plans, long planning cycle, high financial exposure and decreased customer satisfaction, therefore, become permanent pains of “planning silos” in most globally operated companies.

GPMS®, Global Planning Management System, is designed to help mid to large-sized enterprises eliminate the pains of “planning silos” through its built-in best SPC practice and advanced business intelligence technology (BIT). GPMS® is also aimed at helping these enterprises to capitalize their investment in the legacy forecasting and planning software applications or systems to the full extent.