Consumer Goods Technology - July 2008 - (Page 28)

ADVERTORIAL Reduce Waste through More Accurate Forecasting In the United States, manufacturing is the single largest source of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the industrial sector, accounting for 24 percent of the total production of carbon dioxide. Motor carriers consumed 25 billion gallons of diesel fuel in 2006, creating more than 276 million tons of carbon dioxide. Better forecasting reduces emissions generated in the manufacturing process and eliminates emissions created transporting goods to incorrect locations while decreasing consumption of fuel and natural resources. Reducing forecast error is the Reducing forecast error quickest and most efficient way to eliminate waste and reduce con- is both good for the sumption of natural resources. The environment and for cash more error in the forecast, the more deviation there is between what is flow and profitability. actually required and what is produced. The results of inaccurate forecasts include overproduction, redeployment and manufacturing inefficiencies from realigning supply with demand. Reducing production has many benefits for both manufacturers and the environment. According to AMR Research, consumer products companies that are better at demand forecasting have 24% less raw material inventory, 22% less finished goods inventory, 21% shorter cash-to-cash cycle times, 32% shorter days sales outstanding, 22% better plant utilization and 9% lower costs representing approximately 5% of revCONSUMER GOODS TECHNOLOGY | J U LY 2 0 0 8 | enue. Better forecasting ensures that manufacturers produce and ship the right products to the correct location when retailers need them. Terra’s Multi-Enterprise Demand Sensing (MDS) analyzes daily channel information, including POS, retailer channel inventory, shipments and orders to capture the constantly changing preferences of consumers. By incorporating retailer data, MDS creates an intelligent daily forecast to drive supply based on what retailers actually need, cutting forecast error as much as 50%. I Mary Fields 20 Glover Avenue, Norwalk, CT; 203-847-4007 x127; www.terratechnology.com; mary.fields@terratechnology.com 28 W W W. C O N S U M E R G O O D S . C O M http://www.terratechnology.com/solutions/mds.php http://www.terratechnology.com http://www.terratechnology.com http://WWW.CONSUMERGOODS.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Consumer Goods Technology - July 2008

Consumer Goods Technology - July 2008 Contents Edit Note Insights Special Report Catching Up With... Energy-Minded Efficiency Waste to Wonder Greater Good Natural Business Built to Last Setting Sustainable Goals Sustainability, Part 2 CGT Events Between the Lines

Consumer Goods Technology - July 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.