Production Forecast for a Manufacturing Plant using Sage Intacct
What is a Production Forecast for a Manufacturing Plant?
A Production Forecast holds significant importance in the domain of manufacturing plants, serving as a pivotal planning instrument utilized by production and plant managers alike. Its central role revolves around predicting the production output of a manufacturing facility for the upcoming months within a given year. Notably, this forecasting model includes a crucial feature: an automatic presentation of factual quantities for individual items throughout the year, influenced by both price and volume metrics. Each distinct section in the template pertains to a different plant being considered. At the peak of the template, a comparative graph enables a side-by-side assessment of actual versus projected figures for each plant. An illustrative example of this planning template is provided below.
Purpose of Plant Production Forecasts
The significance of Plant Production Forecasts is particularly pronounced in the realm of manufacturing enterprises. They offer an ongoing perspective into the projected revenues generated by each product delivered by a plant. Embraced as a foundational element of robust business strategies within Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) divisions, these forecasts empower companies to deepen their understanding of revenue and profitability prospects. Simultaneously, they mitigate the risk of managerial errors arising from a lack of insights into predicted product-generated revenues resulting from forecasted production.
Benefits to Users
The utility of a Production Forecast model extends well beyond numerical predictions. It functions as a dynamic tool that empowers business users across diverse roles to make more informed choices and enhance operational efficiency. By providing a clear overview of expected production levels, these forecasts enable production and plant managers to optimize the allocation of resources, ensuring alignment between materials, labor, and capacities with projected demands. This proactive approach minimizes the potential for overstocking or underutilization, leading to cost efficiencies and streamlined operations. Furthermore, the transparency offered by such forecasts equips financial planners and analysts with the information needed to formulate precise budgeting and resource allocation strategies. Armed with a comprehensive grasp of anticipated revenues, businesses can prioritize investments, manage cash flows, and distribute funds to areas with the highest potential returns. In this way, the Production Forecast model transcends its quantitative role, fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making and operational excellence among business users.
Plant Production Forecast Example
Here is an example of a Production Forecast input form by product and plant.
Production Forecast for a Manufacturing Plant Example from Solver
You can find hundreds of additional examples here.
Who Uses This Type of Planning Template?
The typical users of this type of planning template are: CFOs, plant and production managers, budget managers.
Other Planning Templates Often Used in Conjunction with Plant Production Forecasts
Progressive Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Departments sometimes use several different Plant Production Forecasts, along with labor forms, capex, other operating expense forms and other management and control tools.
Where Does the Data for Analysis Originate From?
The Actual (historical transactions) data typically comes from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like: Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) Finance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC), Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Sage 100, Sage 300, Sage 500, Sage X3, SAP Business One, SAP ByDesign, Acumatica, Netsuite and others.
In analyses where budgets or forecasts are used, the planning data most often originates from in-house Excel spreadsheet models or from professional corporate performance management (CPM/EPM) solutions.
What Tools are Typically used for Reporting, Planning and Dashboards?
Examples of business software used with the data and ERPs mentioned above are:
- Native ERP report writers and query tools
- Spreadsheets (for example Microsoft Excel)
- Corporate Performance Management (CPM) tools (for example Solver)
- Dashboards (for example Microsoft Power BI and Tableau)
Corporate Performance Management (CPM) Cloud Solutions and More Examples
- View 100’s of reporting, consolidations, planning, budgeting, forecasting and dashboard examples here
- Manufacturing White Paper and other industry-specific information here
- See how reports are designed in a modern report writer using a cloud-connected Excel add-in writer
- Discover how the Solver CPM solution delivers financial and operational reporting
- Discover how the Solver CPM solution delivers planning, budgeting and forecasting
- Watch demo videos of reporting, planning and dashboards
Learn More About Solver CPM For Manufacturing
Only Solver delivers a one-day rapid deployment, including free and instant access to $100K of value available on Day 1 in the Solver Marketplace. Solver is committed to helping you with all your advanced planning and reporting needs, so you can Accelerate Better Decisions – starting now. Take a free tour of Solver for any of these ERPs:
