The Ledger

Simulation Capabilities Are Giving Manufacturers A Major Advantage

Simulation capabilities are being used by manufacturers everywhere to help decision makers understand what has happened or will happen in the future of their business. In the case of additive manufacturing, simulating the material properties and the processes embedded in devices, helps OEMs guarantee that they have the right combination of material and settings to manufacture the necessary part. This ensures the part strength, support structure, and other key requirements will be met so that the part will be successfully produced. Finance departments use simulations for scenario analysis and planning. They want to answer the questions, “what will happen if…?” and be prepared for potential outcomes. With manufacturers focusing more on financial planning & analytics functions to drive their strategies, they need the ability to confidently and accurately predict the impact of internal and external changes on both costs and profits.

Read More at Manufacturing.Net >

Life Hacks For the “Next-Gen” CFO

To be a real strategic partner to the business, modern CFOs must embrace new technologies and tools available to them that can give them a major analytical boost. Business intelligence has become a necessary tool that helps businesses organize, analyze, and contextualize the information they collect. BI takes financial and operational data to produce integrated dashboards, key performance indicators and, most critically, business insights. As such, it has become today’s CFOs key asset, enabling the finance function to provide the business with automated data analytics for historical, current, and predictive views of operations.

Read More at CFO Magazine >

Taking Your CPQ Strategy to the Next Level

For complex manufacturing and engineered products companies, establishing an integrated and robust CPQ process powered by cost-based quoting plays a huge role in maximizing revenue. The best processes require buy-in, involvement and participation from sales, marketing, engineering, manufacturing, finance, and purchasing along with technology to support a collaborative and integrated environment. A successful CPQ strategy requires a centralized platform for all necessary data and a methodology that harmonizes that data with advanced business logic that provides deep and actionable business insights. A powerful CPQ strategy backed by cost-based quoting insights can become the foundation for a successful, modern, and data-driven enterprise.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >

How Successful Growing Businesses Are Making Profitable Decisions

“The core of every growing business is an ability to adapt to a world of new opportunities and disruptive risks. Every shift – from detecting the need for change to determining the best move forward – should be informed by data from both inside and outside the organization.”

As midsize companies continue to adapt and grow in an ever-changing marketplace, they must find new and more efficient ways to drive revenue and respond to their customer’s needs. High performing growing businesses are the ones who are adopting technologies that provide advanced predictive analytics and important financial insights. By integrating data analytics and automation capabilities across the enterprise enables these businesses to create a more innovative and profitable decision-making process.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >