GIB is developed and delivered by ifm Supply Chain, a division of ifm efector.
Supply Chain Excellence for Demand Planning
SCX for Demand Planning runs as native transactions inside your SAP ECC or S/4HANA system — no separate cloud, no interface layer, no new master data object. It takes a consumption series from raw history through outlier cleanup, procedure selection, and forecast generation, to a documented accuracy score your planners can defend in an S&OP meeting.
THE PROBLEM
Three ways a demand plan goes wrong
None of these show up as an error message. They show up three months later, as a stockout or a warehouse full of the wrong SKU.
Supply Chain Excellence for Demand Planning
Replace spreadsheet and email forecasting with statistically rigorous, SAP-native demand planning built directly on the data already in your SAP system, with nothing extra to maintain.
Garbage in, garbage out
Forecast quality is a direct function of the underlying data. One unflagged promotion spike or a bulk one-off order can drag a trend line off course for months if nobody catches it before the forecast runs.
One method, every SKU
Constant, trend, seasonal, seasonal-trend, and irregular demand patterns each need a different statistical procedure. Running the whole portfolio through one default method under-serves the half that doesn't fit it.
Accuracy nobody can defend
Without a standardized, lag-weighted accuracy index tied to replenishment lead time, "the forecast was wrong" turns into a blame exercise instead of a diagnosis anyone can act on.
HOW SCX FOR DEMAND PLANNING WORKS
A four stage process built into one SAP native cockpit
Each stage feeds the next for an end-to-end consensus demand plan.
- 01 Data collection and preparation
- 02 Forecast procedure selection
- 03 Forecast creation
- 04 Quality evaluation
-
01 Data collection and preparation
Classify each consumption series — constant, trend, seasonal, seasonal-trend, or irregular. Run outlier detection with regression analysis, simulate the cleanup before committing it, compare iteration steps side by side, and exclude deliberate outliers — promotions, one-off orders — from automatic correction.
-
02 Forecast procedure selection
Choose automatically by XYZ classification of consumption, define your own formula-based selection logic, or run every available procedure and let the best-fit result win. The preselection you make here is what gets evaluated in stage four.
-
03 Forecast creation
Generate forecasts with Moving Average, Moving Average (Trend), Median, 1st- and 2nd-order Exponential Smoothing, Linear Regression, or Winters (multiplicative, additive, trend) — the full procedure set in one cockpit, at material or hierarchy level, with mass execution across the whole leaf-level population.
-
04 Quality evaluation
Score every forecast with the Forecast Accuracy Index (FAI) and Weighted Tracking Signal (WTS), lag by lag, weighted to each material's replenishment lead time — the same logic behind VDA 9000 aftermarket forecast-accuracy measurement.
"Before human staff gets involved, automated processes have loaded the data and then run forecast models and outlier analysis against it. They just show up and can start actually doing value-added tasks of getting the data right. [...] There's full transparency now between what the demand planner is doing with the data and what the actual planner — a production planner for example — is going to do to execute that plan."
Ross Fasco | SAP Supply Chain Architect at Agilent Technologies
Build, Evaluate, and Adjust Forecasts
with a transparent, data-driven, and business-controlled planning process
- Establish Complete Forecast Transparency
- Optimize Forecast Performance Over Time
- Enable Continuous Forecast Accuracy Control
- Orchestrate Product Lifecycle Transitions
- Control Forecast Hierarchies and Versions at Scale
-
Establish Complete Forecast Transparency

GIB Forecast provides full transparency into how forecast values are generated, adjusted, and transferred across versions, hierarchies, and time horizons. Planners can compare historical actuals, statistical results, manual corrections, and consensus values in one structured view. Trend patterns, seasonality, and structural demand shifts become visible across planning levels — from aggregated turnover planning down to individual material detail. -
Optimize Forecast Performance Over Time

Forecast quality is measured before it impacts inventory, procurement, and production decisions. GIB evaluates multiple statistical models — including seasonal methods, Croston for intermittent demand, and regression approaches — and scores them using established error metrics such as MAD, RMSE, tracking signal, and WMAPE. Smooth demand, seasonal products, and intermittent spare parts are treated differently to avoid systematic distortion and bias. Planners can objectively select the best-fit model per material or hierarchy and monitor bias and volatility over time. Instead of relying on static parameters, forecast logic is continuously validated against real performance.
-
Enable Continuous Forecast Accuracy Control

Not all demand behaves the same and GIB ensures planning logic reflects that reality. High-variance items are clearly surfaced so planners can focus attention where forecast risk is greatest. Rather than reviewing everything equally, planning effort is directed toward what truly drives variability and service exposure. Materials can be segmented using ABC/XYZ or custom classifications to differentiate stable, volatile, seasonal, or intermittent patterns.
-
Orchestrate Product Lifecycle Transitions

Forecasting adjustments and lifecycle events are managed directly within SAP. Structured phase-in and phase-out controls guide product transitions, while version-based planning enables scenario comparison without overwriting core data. Manual adjustments are visible and governed, and hierarchy-based coordination ensures alignment across regions, product lines, and organizational levels.
-
Control Forecast Hierarchies and Versions at Scale

Forecasting operates across structured hierarchies — from product groups down to individual materials, plants, and regions. Multiple versions allow statistical baselines, consensus adjustments, and approved forecasts to coexist in a controlled framework. Decisions remain traceable and aligned.
WHAT'S IN SCX FOR DEMAND PLANNING
Built for planners, designed for sales and marketing input
Native to your SAP GUI
Runs as SAP transactions inside SAP ECC or S/4HANA. No separate database, no interface to maintain.
Mass-capable
Trigger forecast, requirements transfer, outlier test, and dashboard build-up at leaf level, hierarchy-wide, in one run.
Visible outlier dialogue
Every cleanup iteration is comparable and reversible before it ever touches your forecast.
Clean Core certified
Tier 1 Clean Core configuration is documented per application for teams managing an S/4HANA upgrade path.
Real customer results
Automotive & aftermarket | Discrete manufacturing | Multi-plant / multi-MRP-area landscapes | Teams migrating off MRP type VV | S/4HANA Clean Core initiatives
Integration was a priority for us when picking a new forecast tool and GIB had that covered. Automatic model selection with clear audit-ability was a must. It was critical that we picked a system that we could actually review a forecast at a part number level and see what was driving the model. Our previous forecasting tool only offered one forecast model and we could adjust the weight of seasonality. Sharing a forecast dollar value with our sales team and finance has helped with AOP planning and ensuring our forecast direction is in alignment with market conditions. The tool has been very user friendly.
Forecasting Analyst
Manufacturer | $5B+ Annual Revenue
The demand planning module is much more flexible and user friendly than standard SAP processes. Users can work independently to quickly manage the demand of their applicable business segment. Secondary to the demand planning module, the support team with GIB has been extremely helpful with our continued success in using the GIB suite.
Business Analyst
Consumer Goods | $1B+ Annual Revenue
We have achieved all the primary goals outlined in the project plan with regard to increasing efficiency within merchandise planning (goods procurement and demand planning) and reducing storage costs.
Head of Supply Chain Management
MIGROS | Food & Grocery Retailer