Supply chain organizations face extreme pressure. Today’s well-informed, digitally savvy consumers demand quick, personalized experiences, and many businesses struggle to deliver.

For your company to succeed in this increasingly complex landscape, something’s got to give. Since customers likely won’t turn over a new leaf anytime soon, the about-face must come from you. One way to spur change is by reimagining your planning processes for the digital age. In fact, 50% of manufacturers deem digital business planning crucial to supply chain transformation.

By digitalizing planning, you can gain the insight, speed, and agility your organization needs to satisfy today’s demanding consumers and differentiate your company from the competition. But how can your enterprise put digital business planning at the heart of its supply chain transformation?

Technology is the key driver of change

Growth and competition are often cited as two of the biggest factors driving supply chain transformation. But what tops that list? According to 45% of businesses, the answer is new technology.

Fifty percent of companies view data/analytics as the prime technology enabling change.  Following close behind, 42% and 40% of enterprises list the Internet of Things (IoT) and cognitive/artificial intelligence and machine learning as key transformation drivers, respectively.

These revolutionary technologies empower organizations to:

• Sense: By connecting products, assets, equipment, and vehicles with IoT sensors, you can monitor your goods and operations in real time. And sharing the data you collect with supply chain partners ensures everyone in your network always has access to the same insight.

• Analyze: Analytics allow you to turn data into actionable insight. They help you understand why certain incidents happen and how those occurrences impact your business.

• Respond: With cognitive/artificial intelligence and machine learning, you can take the necessary actions to address your biggest planning challenges. You can even automate processes to increase efficiency.

Eighty percent of companies expect to be disrupted by digitally enabled competitors within the next five years.  If your enterprise refuses to transform and insists on deploying outdated technologies, it will unquestionably hold your business back.

Four benefits to expect from your transformation

Digital business planning can drive differentiating value for your company. Specifically, it can give your organization the opportunity to:

• Increase financial performance: Leveraging analytics and other digital technologies could be worth 3%–5% in incremental revenue.

• Cut product innovation costs and shorten delivery times: Digital business planning solutions can lower product innovation costs by 10% and reduce new product lead times by 30%.

• Gain greater flexibility: By integrating your entire supply chain network with innovative technologies, not only can you enhance demand forecasting and facilitate partner collaboration, you can increase agility by 50%.

• Boost service performance: Digitalizing your fulfillment and inventory processes can improve customer service by 2%–3%.

Digital business planning and supply chain transformation offer your organization potentially astounding rewards. And the groundbreaking technologies enabling these benefits are no longer nice to have – they’re must-haves.

A clear path to competitive differentiation

Today’s consumers are in control, and you’re not going to wrest control from them anytime soon. One thing you can control, however, is your company’s planning processes.

By digitalizing planning and transforming your supply chain enterprise for the digital age, you can significantly alter the consumer experience. You can better anticipate demand, develop individualized goods, and respond more quickly to volatility.

This approach will not only help you curry favor with customers, but also give you the competitive edge you’ve been looking for.

For more statistics and insight on competing in the digital age, check out the full IDC infobrief, sponsored by SAP, Digital Business Planning Is at the Heart of Supply Chain Transformation .