ASAHI Case Study - New Demand Planning System

Asahi Breweries Europe Group (ABEG), a global beverage manufacturer, was looking to improve current operations and procedures in the area of demand forecasting. ABEG wanted to achieve this by introducing one common tool across the company that would replace their existing, costly, legacy systems.

There was a request to phase out the systems and a need to introduce a regional tool that could adapt to local requirements. Taking these conditions into account, and considering the size of the project, ABEG needed a strategic partner who can help build a tailored solution that will enable smooth operations without impacting current business.

Business challenge: Complex, inefficient systems not fully supporting demand planning system across the company

ABEG’s planning teams previously used demand planning tools that weren’t fully centralized across markets. This was exacerbated by their legacy systems that constantly underwent modifications and were added with new functionalities and changes for many years. As the complexity of their business processes grew, these systems became less flexible, harder to scale, and more difficult to use. ABEG’s planning teams were unable to access all data on specific, granular levels. The solution became rigid and prone to introducing changes, which were costly. A flexible system was needed, one that was open to new adjustments according to changing market trends. Their business processes required the solution to be scalable to be rolled out to other markets, allowing standardization and helping bring all the data together. ABEG envisioned a flexible, centralized system that can cover all the necessary country-specific requirements and support their planning teams in their everyday demand forecasting tasks.

Our cooperation with Lingaro met expectations. We appreciate the great flexibility and commitment. The developers were always ready to help and provide the needed support with a very pro-active approach. It was clear, that the people working on this project have both the skills and experience, they know what to do and are up to date with current trends. Lingaro also stands out as it does not force their ideas on customers or try to convince to their ways of reasoning. They stick to the planned guidelines and to what the client wants and needs. The project was very difficult and complicated; therefore, Lingaro’s flexibility was very appreciated.

Sebastian Skiba
Demand Planning Manager, Asahi Breweries Europe Group

Lingaro solution: Tailored solution for accurate business planning

Lingaro cooperated with ABEG’s internal team to develop a tailored solution to tackle all the challenges and focus on the specified requirements. The project implementation was organized in ways that would not negatively affect or disrupt the business’s ongoing functions or current processes.

Employing Microsoft SQL Server for the data warehouse and application database layers, we designed the new solution to be fully integrated with ABEG’s current warehousing systems and supply chain processes. The new solution provided the requested capability to adapt to local requirements. Further flexibility has been added in terms of hierarchy and grouping.

This enables ABEG’s teams to look at and create forecasts from multiple angles and perspectives. They can manipulate the parameters to obtain deeper insights and operate in line with the changing market trends and customer needs. The new user-friendly and flexible tool also supports ABEG’s team in independently handling large The new user-friendly and flexible tool also supports ABEG’s teams in independently handling large volumes of data, which allows for more efficient demand planning system.

Data Warehouse

The result: Efficient demand forecasting that addresses changing trends and consumer needs – Demand Planning System

The new, fully integrated and well-organized system has introduced unification across the whole organization. Now, ABEG uses a single tool that addresses all local requirements. As  a highly flexible solution, it can adjust to new modifications in relation to changing trends and customer needs. An important benefit is the increase in data quality.

Demand drivers can be grouped and categorized based on the client or product’s perspective, allowing modifications to be created according to the current market trends. The new system was smoothly introduced, with no disruptions to the existing processes. Cost savings were noted from the start, particularly in terms of system maintenance and licensing costs. The tailored solution is now being rolled out to new markets to drive transformational improvement on a multinational scale.