Whether you operate a multi-outlet retail chain or sales organisation, or sell your products or services through third-party sales channels, detailed planning and forecasting is critical to achieving results. The difference between success and failure can boil down to just a few percentage points of margin.
Sales are often seasonal and profitability can vary hugely with even small variations in sales volumes or margins. Promotional initiatives can influence sales, but at a cost. Sales can be increased with more 'floor space' or sales channels, but may impact like-for-like sales and reduce unit sale profitability. Some costs are fixed and some are under your control - others are unpredictable but will vary between known 'error margins'.
In each of these areas, previous experience, results of past initiatives and your general experience are highly valuable - you probably have the information you need to do a good planning job. But with so many variable and inter-related factors to consider it is unsurprising that planning and forecasting is still difficult and inevitably lacks rigour - you just don't have the time to examine all the combinations of options, nor to assess best and worst case outcomes allowing for forecasting error margins.
This is where a Paragon model can help by automating the process of planning - encapsulating your expertise, allowing you to concentrate on examining options and plans while the model tells you how these will interact and how they will affect the bottom line.
Paragon's unique 'Information Manager' organises all the options you have considered and presents the results so that you can easily see how to achieve the best outcome. Sensitivity of results to assumptions and forecast can also easily be assessed - dramatically reducing the chances of nasty surprises.
In addition, because the model provides results quickly, you can review progress through the year and re-plan and re-forecast if necessary. Actions can be taken promptly, not when it is too late to affect the result.
If you recognise any of the above challenges, then we believe that we can help you significantly improve the way you plan at a tiny fraction of the cost of just one poorly conceived or timed sales initiative. The case studies on this page detail how we have already helped other well known retailers of goods and services.
case studies
Tesco
Distribution Centre
Tesco needed an independent assessment of the impact of proposed changes and whether efficiency and loading time targets would be met. The materials handling supplier recommended Paragon Simulation.
A FTSE 100-listed financial services group
Offers a broad portfolio of insurance, pension and investment products and services
A model to set and achieve sales and marketing revenue targets in order to meet investors' expectations at the same time as reconcile top-down targets with the necessary bottom-up planning.
BAA
Terminal 5
A generic simulation tool that showed BAA the impact on passengers of varying aircraft schedules and plane types, future passenger volumes and check-in resources.
people say
"The results of the modelling greatly influenced the size and layout, and service point numbers and positioning of Terminal 5"
