Cognos partners with Constar for S&OP blueprint

Capitalizing on evolving market requirements for business performance solutions, Cognos is developing a series of industry-specific Performance Blueprints that move beyond basic business intelligence tools to offer pre-configured data, process, and policy models incorporating best practices. The blueprints support faster time-to-benefit in making informed decision around specific business functions.

The Cognos Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) Performance Blueprint premiered in June.

“People want good reporting tools and performance analytics with pre-built applications,” says Paul Hoy, manufacturing industry director for Cognos. “The goal is to provide a tool and a single platform to support a united conversation about supply and demand, and put the information in the most meaningful context for each individual. It's designed to complement transactional systems, with the benefit of speed in modeling changes in demand or supply, and testing scenarios for their impact on labor, or capacity, or the company's P&L [profit and loss].”

For the S&OP blueprint, Cognos worked with Constar International, a Philadelphia-based manufacturer of plastic containers for beverages in North American and European markets. Constar, which uses Cognos Planning and Cognos ReportNet for linking sales forecasting and manufacturing production, provided input on the design and definition of best practices by drawing on user experience.

“The blueprint serves several purposes,” says Robbie Kaplan, director of business intelligence for Constar. “It offers proof of concept for someone evaluating the process, and a quick start for anyone wanting to implement it. It also is a great way to look at best practices. We often become satisfied with what we've already done and don't reach for the next level of benefit for the business and users,” she says.

Constar initially implemented Cognos to more tightly link customer-driven forecasts with production planning, and make forecasts visible to more people involved in the process. “Our business is seasonal,” says Kaplan. “Sometimes demand exceeds capacity and we must evaluate when and where to produce our products more cost-effectively. Working with Cognos on the blueprint was a truly collaborative process—giving them benefit, and then deriving benefit from working with them in return.”

Cognos expects to release blueprints for logistics and transportation in early 2007, and one for trade promotion management in spring 2007.