Products & Solutions / Supply Chain Intelligence

SAS® Forecasting for SAP APO

Enhance SAP demand planning with the rich forecasting capabilities of SAS® software

SAS Forecasting for SAP APO provides organizations ideal demand forecasting and planning by combining superior SAS forecasting with the strength of SAP Advanced Planning & Optimization (SAP APO) planning capabilities. By seamlessly integrating SAS’ award-winning analytics with the SAP APO Demand Planning module, the solution helps you enrich your demand planning process with powerful, yet easy-to-use forecasting functionality, thus transforming your organization from one that simply reacts to one that is proactive.

"SAS Forecasting for SAP APO enables an easier assessment and improvement of forecasting results for companies that have implemented SAP APO for Supply Chain Management. Whereas most companies only define demand profiles and forecasting algorithms in the initial implementation, with SAS, you can define them continually throughout the product and market life cycles, simplifying and continuously improving the forecasting process – leading to sustained success."

—Frode Huse Gjendem
Senior Executive, Supply Chain Practice
Accenture 

Benefits

  • Improve your statistical forecasting performance and accuracy.
  • Reduce finished-goods inventory levels and stock-outs.
  • Integrate forecasting capability and planning components.

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Features

  • Large-scale, automated, statistical forecast model selection and optimization.
  • Complete model repository with a full range of forecasting methods.
  • Event modeling for sales promotions, marketing events and other external events.
  • What-if analysis and scenario planning.
  • Comprehensive reporting environment for planners.

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Screenshot

Forecast created by SAS Forecast Server


Screenshots

How SAS® Is Different

SAS Forecasting for SAP APO is a great choice for businesses that want to use SAP APO Demand Planning but want to augment the accuracy of their statistical forecasts. SAS Forecasting for SAP APO:

  • Is the only solution on the market today that offers all the core modeling techniques as well as custom-developed algorithms to use within a hierarchy.
  • Automatically generates forecasts for each item at every business-/product-level hierarchy using the best-fit model. The engine automatically determines the appropriate forecasting model based on statistical parameters and business rules for each level.
  • Is the most scalable statistical forecasting engine with on-the-fly hierarchical capabilities, including hierarchical reconciliation.

Benefits

  • Improve your statistical forecasting performance and accuracy. The patented SAS Forecast Server engine has a complete array of advanced forecasting methods, including exponential smoothing, Winter's, ARIMA, ARIMAX, UCM and dynamic regression, to model and forecast all products across an organization's product portfolio. SAS can integrate consumer demand (pull), model and forecast it automatically using award-winning data access tools.
  • Reduce finished-goods inventory levels and stock-outs. SAS provides forecasts that reflect the realities of the business, improving your ability to forecast and plan future events with confidence. As a result, safety stock levels can be tightened along with on-hand finished goods inventory – adding more efficiencies to the overall supply chain. Also, stock-outs (or back orders) are reduced as the right products are produced at the right time and stocked at the right locations.
  • Integrate forecasting capability and planning components. SAS' solution seamlessly integrates with the SAP APO Demand Planning module so that SAP users can invoke SAS Forecast Server without leaving the SAP interface, providing the best scenario possible – superior SAS forecasting and strong SAP-APO planning capabilities. SAS Forecasting for SAP APO provides a pull-down menu from inside of the SAP APO Demand Planning GUI, allowing users to generate a statistical forecast using the SAS Forecast Server in the background.

Features

Large-scale, automated, statistical forecast model selection and optimization.
  • Interactive point-and-click interface (GUI).
  • Project set-up wizards.
  • High-performance, hierarchical statistical engine.
  • Graphical engine.
  • Statistical engine to provide various statistical calculations (e.g., MAPE, MAD, etc.).
  • Filter generator.

Complete model repository with a full range of forecasting methods.
  • Time series methods:
    • Single exponential smoothing.
    • Holt's/Brown's two parameter exponential smoothing.
    • Winter's three parameter exponential smoothing.
    • Additive/multiplicative.
    • ARIMA.
  • Causal methods:
    • ARIMAX (ARIMA with intervention and causal variables).
    • Lagged variables/transfer functions.
    • Dynamic multiple regression.
    • UCM (unobserved components model).
  • Open model repository.
  • Add custom models.

Event modeling for sales promotions, marketing events and other external events.
  • Event model console:
    • Interactive JAVA GUI.
  • Predefined holiday events (e.g., Christmas, Easter, etc.):
    • Automatic date realignment for Easter and other moving holidays.
  • Customer event creator:
    • Four event types: pulse, ramp up/down, level shift, temporary.

What-if analysis and scenario planning.
  • Plug-in for SAS Forecast Server GUI.
  • What-if planning capabilities using model parameter estimates:
    • Ability to change model parameter estimates to determine effects on forecasts.

Comprehensive reporting environment for planners.
  • Leveraging SOA interfaces, invoke SAS within SAP as a service.
  • Interactive dashboard with balanced scorecard drill-down/-up capabilities.
  • View and share through SAS Web Report Studio and SAS Web Report Viewer.
  • Disseminate forecast performance metrics and tracking reports on a companywide basis.

Screenshots

Screenshot
Forecast created by SAS Forecast Server

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Screenshot
Forecast created by SAS Forecast Server

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Screenshot
Forecast created by SAS Forecast Server

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System Requirements

Client

  • Microsoft Windows (x86-32): Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista*, Windows Server 2003 family.
  • Microsoft Windows on x64 (EM64T/AMD64): Windows XP Professional for x64, Windows Vista* for x64, Windows Server 2003 for x64.

Supported Web browsers

  • Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP Pro.
  • Internet Explorer 7 on Windows XP Pro and Windows Vista*.
  • Firefox 2.0 on Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista* and Linux x86 (SuSE and RHEL).

Server

  • AIX: Version 5.3 and Version 6.1 on POWER architectures.
  • HP-UX PA-RISC: HP-UX 11iv2 (11.23), 11iv3 (11.31).
  • HP-UX Itanium: HP-UX 11iv2 (11.23), 11iv3 (11.31).
  • Linux for x86 (x86-32): RHEL 4 and 5, SuSE SLES 9 and 10.
  • Linux for x64 (EM64T/AMD64): RHEL 4 and 5, SuSE SLES 9 and 10.
  • Microsoft Windows (x86-32): Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista*, Windows Server 2003 family.
  • Microsoft Windows on x64 (EM64T/AMD64): Windows XP Professional for x64, Windows Vista* for x64, Windows Server 2003 for x64.
  • Microsoft Windows (on Itanium): Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-based systems.
  • Solaris on SPARC: Version 9, 10.
  • Solaris on x64: Version 10.
  • z/OS: V1R7, V1R8, V1R9 and higher.

Midtier/Web Tier

Sites can choose to license WebLogic, WebSphere or JBOSS directly from the vendor:

  • Oracle WebLogic (AIX, HP-UX Itanium, Solaris, Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003).
  • IBM WebSphere (AIX, Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003).
  • Red Hat JBOSS (AIX, HP-UX Itanium, Solaris, Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003).

SAP System Requirements

  • SAP SCM 4.1 or higher.
  • SAP SCM GUI 6.40 or higher.

 

* Windows Vista Editions that are supported include Enterprise, Business and Ultimate.

Ready to learn more?

Call us at 1-800-727-0025 (US and Canada) or request more information.