Improved Supply Chain Resilience With Accurate Demand Forecasting & Optimized Inventory Levels.

In the fast-paced world of Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs), this global leader in pizza delivery shines as a true symbol of convenience, speed, and reliability. But behind every hot, freshly baked pizza that arrives at a customer's door is a sophisticated supply chain, carefully crafted with planning, demand forecasting, inventory management, and the ability to respond in real-time.
As customer expectations soared and operations became more complex, the QSR realized it needed a fresh approach to planning. So, the company embarked on a journey to implement a top-notch SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP) Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process.
The goal - Boost agility, improve business alignment, and unlock even greater operational efficiency across its global network.
The Objective: Planning for the Future, One Slice at a Time
The QSR’s primary objective was clear: to enable optimal business planning that could drive revenue growth, increase market share, and control operational costs. The company sought to elevate its planning capabilities with a digital-first approach, where all supply chain activities—from forecasting to inventory and replenishment—would be data-driven, integrated, and aligned with business goals. To reach their goal, the QSR teamed up with Birlasoft to evaluate products and identify the right solution. Birlasoft implemented SAP IBP, a comprehensive cloud-based planning solution that aims to link data, people, and processes seamlessly was chosen as the solution.

 

Customer Objectives & Challenges
The global QSR faced structural and operational challenges that hindered scalability and efficiency:
  • Single Source of Truth: Fragmented planning tools and data silos caused a disconnect between supply chain operations and finance, leading to inconsistent decision-making and misaligned goals.
  • Need for Industry Best Practices: The existing planning framework lacked the agility and intelligence to adapt to the ever-changing nature of the QSR market, particularly during seasonal surges or promotional campaigns.
  • Complex Supply Network: Managing thousands of store locations, multiple suppliers, and distribution centres across vast regions introduced complexity that traditional tools could not manage efficiently.
  • Inventory Visibility and Replenishment: The need for frequent restocking of fresh ingredients created constant pressure on the supply chain. The QSR needed deeper visibility to reduce waste and optimize replenishment cycles.
  • Agility in Demand Response: In an industry driven by promotions, sporting events, and unpredictable spikes in demand, QSR needed to run what-if analysis to simulate scenarios and quickly adapt to real-world changes.
The SAP IBP Solution
With SAP IBP, the QSR reimagined its end-to-end supply chain planning. The implementation created a digitally connected, responsive, and predictive planning ecosystem that aligned operational execution with strategic goals.
Key capabilities included:
  • Demand Planning and Forecasting: Leveraging AI and machine learning, the QSR gained a significantly improved ability to forecast both short-term and long-term demand at the store and regional levels.
  • Inventory Optimization: Real-time insights enabled the right inventory to be in the right place at the right time, minimizing both shortages and overstocking.
  • Supply Planning and Scenario Modelling: Integrated demand and supply views empowered planners to simulate multiple supply scenarios using what-if analysis, helping them make initiative-taking decisions.
  • Promotions and Trends Visualization: The QSR could now visualize historical promotion performance and better forecast future promotional demand patterns.
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Benefits Realized
The transformation through SAP IBP led to several tangible business improvements, positioning QSR as a leader in intelligent planning:
  • Improved Forecast Accuracy: With AI-powered demand planning, forecast errors were significantly reduced, even during peak sales periods and unpredictable promotions.
  • Enhanced Inventory Visibility: Planners gained a real-time, end-to-end view of inventory across the supply chain, leading to smarter replenishment and less food waste.
  • Integrated Demand and Supply Process: Cross-functional collaboration improved as finance, supply chain, and operations all worked from the same dataset and planning models.
  • Scalability: The solution proved flexible and scalable, making it easy to expand to other geographical regions without reengineering the core processes.
  • Data-Driven Promotion Planning: Visualization tools allowed the QSR to leverage past promotion data, uncover trends, and optimize campaign planning.
Conclusion: Delivering the Future, One Slice Ahead
The QSR’s experience with SAP IBP highlights a significant transformation in the industry—moving away from reactive, manual methods to embracing initiative-taking, smart planning. By bringing together supply chain and financial planning on one platform, the QSR has not only boosted its operational efficiency but also strengthened their capacity to adapt to market shifts quickly and confidently.
In today’s fast-paced world, where customer expectations are sky-high and timing is crucial, the global QSR leader in pizza delivery now has the foresight and agility to meet demand with one perfectly optimized slice at a time.
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