Cabot Microelectronics Reduces Forecasting Cycle Time by Nearly 50 Percent With Oracle's Real Time Sales and Operations Plannin

To increase its forecast accuracy and decrease planning cycle times, [ Cabot Microelectronics ] implemented [ Oracle's Real Time Sales and Operations Planning solution ], powered by Oracle's Demantra.
A leading global supplier of consumables to the semiconductor industry, Cabot Microelectronics selected [ Hitachi Consulting ] for the deployment based on the company's expertise and track-record implementing Oracle's Demantra. Hitachi Consulting is a Certified Advantage Partner in the Oracle® PartnerNetwork.
By replacing its existing demand planning system, Cabot Microelectronics has reduced its demand forecasting and planning cycle time by almost 50 percent.
Additionally, Oracle's Real Time Sales and Operations Planning solution has allowed Cabot Microelectronics to quickly respond to changing business conditions and swings in demand while gaining better control of its global planning and forecasting processes.

Integrated Solution Delivers Business Value

Cabot Microelectronics had a successful history of utilizing [ Oracle On Demand ] Hosted and Managed Applications, including the [ Oracle E-Business Suite ] On Demand, [ Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning ] On Demand and [ Oracle Hyperion Planning ] On Demand for analysis, strategy, forecasting and financial insight.
Previously, the forecasting process was highly manual and time intensive, which had the potential to cause errors at the item number level.
Working with Hitachi Consulting, Cabot Microelectronics implemented Oracle Demand Management over three months with a primary focus on improving its sales and operations planning (S&OP) efficiency.
During the second, eight-week phase, Hitachi Consulting developed new and enhanced S&OP processes and integrated Oracle Real Time Sales and Operations Planning with Oracle Hyperion Planning, with a primary focus on improving S&OP effectiveness.
The new, tightly integrated system allows Cabot Microelectronics to design long-range plans in Hyperion which are then translated into annual plans and synchronized with Oracle Real Time Sales and Operations Planning for execution across sales, inventory and forecasting.
As a result, the company has seen a 50 percent reduction in forecast error rates at the item number level.
Oracle Hyperion Planning, which replaced a spreadsheet-based process, offers Cabot Microelectronics a powerful and accurate analysis for business planning and strategy that helps to speed its financial planning and forecasting processes.

Supporting Quotes

"Oracle's Real Time Sales and Operations Planning solution and the integration to Oracle Hyperion Planning has had a valuable impact on our entire organization," said Cabot Microelectronics Director Global Customer Service and Sales Operations, James Dillon. "We've streamlined and automated demand forecasting and improved our ability to deliver timely plans. Our finance team can now focus on analysis and planning instead of data gathering. Also, our sales force benefits from a much more intuitive, user-friendly interface and is now able to forecast price changes in Demantra. Overall, the transparency we've gained promotes better collaboration across our global operations."
"We are excited to see Cabot Microelectronics realizing the benefits they hoped for from an improved demand management and S&OP process," said Hitachi Consulting Vice President, David Williams. "From the beginning, Cabot set a clear vision for its improvements and we are pleased to have helped make those a reality."

Supporting Resources

[ Oracle's Demantra Real Time Sales and Operations Planning ]
[ Oracle E-Business Suite ]
[ Oracle Hyperion Planning ]
[ Oracle PartnerNetwork ]
[ Oracle On Demand ]
[ Hitachi Consulting ]

About Oracle Supply Chain Management
[ Oracle Supply Chain Management ]applications are complete, open and integrated solutions that power the Information-Driven Value Chain. The industry's most comprehensive portfolio of industry-specific supply chain applications, Oracle SCM spans all aspects of the value chain including planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and service, all with end-to-end supply chain intelligence. With Oracle SCM, companies can achieve operational excellence, accelerate innovation and manage risk and compliance.

About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: [ ORCL ]) is the world's largest business software company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at [ http://www.oracle.com ]

About Hitachi Consulting Corporation
As Hitachi, Ltd.'s (NYSE: [ HIT ]) global consulting company, with operations in the United States, Europe and Asia, Hitachi Consulting is a recognized leader in delivering proven business and IT strategies and solutions to Global 2000 companies across many industries. With a balanced view of strategy, people, process and technology, we work with companies to understand their unique business needs, and to develop and implement practical business strategies and technology solutions. From business strategy development through application deployment, our consultants are committed to helping clients quickly realize measurable business value and achieve sustainable ROI.

Hitachi Consulting's client base includes 25 percent of the Global 100 as well as many leading mid-market companies. We offer a client-focused, collaborative approach and transfer knowledge throughout each engagement.

For more information, call 1.877.664.0010 or visit [ www.hitachiconsulting.com ].

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Cabot Microelectronics Reduces Forecasting Cycle Time by Nearly 50 Percent With Oracle's Real Time Sales and Operations Plannin