Critical Factors for Improved Order Forecasting

Accurate and Reliable ‘Inbound Orders Forecasts’ are Critical to Your Success!

THINK ABOUT THIS:

There is much to be gained with improved ‘Incoming Order’ forecasting.

• • Accurate incoming order forecasts are a critical component of supply chain management and needed for well run business operations.
  • Accurate forecasts enable businesses to make informed decisions regarding production, staffing, inventory management, resource allocation and capacity.
  • Reliable predictions for order receipt ‘timing’ builds respect and value for your contribution to company success.
  • Everyone benefits.

The ability to reliably forecast incoming orders is a highly important skill that eludes many factory automation sales producers and even management.

• • Forecasting is often thought to be more of an art form.
  • Poor forecasting practices lead to limited visibility of incoming revenue.
  • Continued inability to ‘Objectively’ forecast incoming orders adversely impacts ability to make factual based decisions and effectively manage risk.
  • No one benefits.

These symptoms characterize a ‘Poor Order Forecasting Process’ which are clearly evident in:

• • Chronic lack of understanding about order decision timing.
  • Sales producer predictions that are consistently more subjective than objective.
  • Communicated confidence about projected order wins that consistently turn to losses with the reason for the loss remaining a mystery.
  • No formal method used for qualifying open quotations.
    

The Good News is that ongoing poor order predictability can be remedied by shifting the focus to learning and applying ‘Objective Factors’ and subordinating ‘Subjective Factors’ used to predict incoming revenue. 

Objective forecasting simply involves making ‘new business’ predictions based upon verifiable ‘facts and data’ used by the end user to establish and justify the capital investment, manage the project, select the supplier and complete the project. 

The individual(s) making the prediction must be able to engage in the ‘Objective Side of the Project’ and be confident in all related factors. Subjective feelings or perceived emotions and even relationships are important but only to the extent they create an understanding of the objective factors applied to making the order prediction.

Getting Up to Speed for Better Automation Equipment Forecasts:

• • Be engaged early in the capital project and supplier selection process.
    • Early involvement in complex projects allows needed time to understand and adapt to critical factors. 
      
  • Be Equipped with excellent discovery questions that will strengthen your understanding of the project or opportunity. 
    • • Know factors like project priorities, installed machine or engineered product timing, when the equipment needs to be at full production, persons involved in the project and their roles, typical contract terms & conditions, machine acceptance criteria and any performance conditions expected by the end-user.
      • Know the status of critical processes and manufactured parts necessary for project success.
      • Understand project phases and key timing for completion.
      • Be dependable and timely communicating relevant information to your team.
      • Dependability helps to create internal confidence in the project opportunity and helps support your recommendations for positioning to win. 
  • Work to create opportunities for ‘people to gather’ for increased access to more project information and in-person engagement with individuals that influence the sourcing decision.
    • • Events are an opportunity to strengthen relationships, gain or verify data and build confidence in your proposed solution.
      • Work to secure appointed times for equipment or product demonstrations, group presentations, plant visits, product and process seminars, trade show appointments all of which facilitate increased access to more people and objective information.
      • Don’t forget senior management introductions and the importance of conversations between them.
  • Notable automation customers will have well developed capital investment programs, formal process notifications and specifications. Make sure you know them as early as possible, and your proposal reflects a strong understanding of these factors. 
  • Insure you know the people on the floor that actually use the equipment, engineered product or parts you propose to manufacture.
    • • Understand what works for them and their preferences or existing problems you can solve with your proposal.
      • These individuals are often your real customers and exert influence over the internal decision-making process.

IMPORTANT: There are many factors important to creating a sustainable basis for reliable and accurate factory automation order forecasts.

Although there are common factors that apply to all order predictions. Automated equipment and engineered solution order forecasting should be tailored to ‘objective and subjective’ factors important to your position to win.

We can help you improve the order predictive process at all levels in your organization.

We look forward to our conversation that will begin to ‘unpack’ factors unique to your business that can be applied to building a sustainable model for improving sales forecast.

Let’s Make ‘Sustainable Predictability’ a part of your company culture!

We are ready to get started!  

Thank you.