Labor Forecast for a Manufacturing Plant

    What is a Labor Forecast for a Manufacturing Plant ? Labor forecasts are considered employee expense models and are often used by plant managers and budget analysts to estimate detailed labor expenses for the remaining periods of the year. Key functionality in this type of planning template displays year-to-date salary expenses by employee and provides input for the remaining months of the year. Expected new employees can be added at the bottom of the form. The top portion contains charts that give an simple visual analysis of the resulting labor expense forecast. You will find an example of this type of planning template below. Purpose of Labor Forecasts Manufacturing companies use Labor Forecasts to get a detailed estimate of expected employee expenses per plant for the year. When used as part of good business practices in a Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) department, a company can improve its workforce planning and profit estimates, as well as, reduce the chances that managers lack insight into labor expenses and related outcomes with the plant. Labor Forecast Example Here is an example of a Labor Forecast for a manufacturing plant. [caption id="attachment_18032" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Labor Forecast for a Manufacturing Plant Example Labor Forecast for a Manufacturing Plant Example[/caption] 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 managers, budget managers. Other Planning Template s Often Used in Conjunction with Labor Forecasts Progressive Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Departments sometimes use several different Labor Forecasts, along with revenue 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: 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 Intacct, 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 Learn More About Solver CPM For Manufacturing
    September 15, 2020