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What do Gartner, Forrester, and IDC have in common? They all named Anaplan a planning leader.
Efficient supply chains for energy-efficient products
Industrial manufacturer relies on fast, effective, flexible supply chain solutions to build efficient heating, cooling, and power products
Danfoss, a global manufacturer of energy-saving heating, cooling, and power solutions, needed a supply chain that was as efficient as its products — but outdated technology held things back. Supply chain and allocation improvements supported by Anaplan unlocked users’ special knowledge and slashed data update times from hours to minutes
With Anaplan, we succeeded to make a setup with very, very rich functionality.Kristoffer Halle, SIOP Architect, Danfoss
Exception-based
workflows enable supply chain planners to focus efforts
15
minutes to complete allocations that formerly took hours
Three
sprints build a game-changing supply chain allocation solution
Danfoss engineers its heating, cooling, power, and other solutions for extreme efficiency. “Across the broad span of products we have, we basically save energy, so we have a positive impact on CO2 emissions,” says Kristoffer Halle, SIOP Architect at Danfoss, a multibillion-dollar international industrial manufacturer headquartered in Denmark. Indeed, Danfoss is leading the world’s green transition.
Efficient processes help build efficient products
Halle and his fellow supply chain leaders and planners at Danfoss are charged with making the company’s operations efficient — like the products Danfoss makes — but outdated planning technology and processes sometimes got in the way. In 2018, Danfoss began using the Anaplan platform for Sales, Inventory, and Operational Planning (SIOP). The SIOP solution has been game-changing for the planners at Danfoss who use it. For example, rather than compiling and updating all data when reviewing a project, the new system is exception-based; unchanged data flows through automatically, and planners can apply their time and intellect where it adds value.
“With Anaplan, we succeeded to make a setup with very, very rich functionality,” he says. “They can spend time where they know some special insight. That has been a great success for us.” The SIOP platform has become even more comprehensive and automated since its launch.
Fast move into production
In 2021, a different team within Danfoss was addressing supply chain challenges related to global business conditions. “We were dealing with extended lead times on raw materials,” recalls Magnus Hoffritz, OneERP Consultant and UX Lead Developer at Danfoss. “Although we could increase our [manufacturing] capacity, we just weren’t able because we couldn’t get materials fast enough.”
Lack of consistent and timely data compounded the challenge. “We had a lot of spreadsheets, all on SharePoint sites,” Hoffritz says. “We were really struggling how to update them.” He knew his team could address the challenge with an Anaplan-based allocation solution, and he was determined to move fast. “After we captured all the user stories, we did something very fast as a minimum viable product,” he says of his team. “We actually were able to build a final product that we went live with after just three sprints.”
Hoffritz’ allocation solution delivered immediate value to its users. With the old system, planners spent hours updating dozens of spreadsheets weekly. Now the work is done in 15 minutes a week, with complete traceability and transparency. “They log in one place and they see everything at once,” Hoffritz says.
Extraordinary flexibility
Halle says that the multiple ways that teams at Danfoss use Anaplan illustrate the platform’s unique value proposition. “The big strength of Anaplan is this extraordinary flexibility, that you can do anything you want,” he explains. “So basically, the sky is the limit.”
Doing more with less
Kristoffer Halle, SIOP Architect: With Danfoss products, you can do more with less. Our products are typically more efficient. Across the broad span of products we have, we basically save energy.
At Danfoss we have chosen to invest in digitalization. We have strong platforms throughout our value chain. We needed to have one way of working across the enterprise — Connected Planning, basically. Anaplan could execute on any demand we had. With Anaplan set up to deliver the input to basically drive our supply chain, in our ERP setup. With Anaplan, we actually succeeded to make a setup with very, very rich functionality. You can do anything you want, but also you can do it on a very broad scale.
That has been a great success for us. From having a setup where planners need to go over and monitor everything and change everything. It's now exception-based. They before would need to spend a lot of time on taking data in and tying things and bringing things [together]. Now they can spend their time on what really gives value. They can spend time on where they know some special insight. All the rest is just flowing through in an automatic setup.
We see now many benefits. You can basically spend your time qualitatively on the right things on an enterprise level. We actually succeeded with that. It's truly one plan and that's that's a big step forward from where we were.
The big strength of Anaplan is this extraordinary flexibility — that you can do anything you want. So basically the sky's the limit.
Agile Development
Magnus Hoffritz, OneERP Consultant & UX Lead Developer: Danfoss is really a leader in the green transition. We produce products for heating, cooling, hydraulics, and energy drives.
What we saw at the end of 2021 was a huge disruption in our supply chains. We were dealing with extended lead times on raw materials, and although we could increase our capacity, we just couldn't get materials fast enough.
We established a process with how we were going to do product allocation. But as we had more and more products that we wanted to be part of that process, we struggled with how to manage it.
We ended up with a bunch of spreadsheets all on SharePoint sites, and were really struggling [with] how to update them. And that's when my team came in. We already had prior knowledge of what Anaplan could do and it looked like a really good match.
My favorite thing about Anaplan is that you can get from idea [to] design, build, and release in a very short period. It is really a tool that's so suited for agile development.
We did something very fast as a minimum viable product. We showed it to the users and we got immediately quite a lot of good constructive feedback. After that we did a small pilot with a broader user base, and based on their feedback, we actually were able to build a final product that we went live with after just three sprints.
So from a user perspective, it's a really big change. We used to be updating 65 different spreadsheets and it was taking hours every week to do this. Now they log in one place and see everything at once. Now, it's actually done in just 15 minutes.
The feedback we get from the users is all positive. We can actually act on their feedback immediately and do further iterations and further improvements.
I would definitely recommend Anaplan for people who want to get away from the spreadsheets.
