Better Demand Planning on Deacom or BatchMaster, Without Replacing the ERP

At SupplySide Global this year, many of the supplement, food and beverage manufacturers we talked to were running Deacom or BatchMaster, and the weak spot they described was planning. The next thought is often a new ERP. When the ERP runs the plant well and the problem is the forecast, that's the most expensive way to fix it.

This post covers what each system already does well, where its planning stops, and what a demand planning layer adds above the ERP. It also covers when you don't need one at all.

What do Deacom and BatchMaster already do well?

Both are ERPs built for batch and process manufacturers, and both are stronger at planning than a general-purpose ERP. Any honest comparison starts there.

Deacom (ECI)

• Statistical forecast methods built in. Deacom's help documentation lists moving average, weighted moving average, linear regression, and simple, double and triple exponential smoothing.
• Forecasts by part, customer and facility, in day, week or month buckets, and the forecast drives MRP.
• Promotions and scenarios. Deacom can "update sales forecasts based on upcoming product promotions using the promotional lift" and run multiple forecast scenarios against production capacity.
• MRP and scheduling. Deacom's MRP "calculates demand based on scheduled sales orders, scheduled production jobs, and indirect requirements," and its scheduler supports what-if scenarios.

BatchMaster

• MPS and MRP built around formulas and batches. MPS uses "open production orders, sales orders and forecast entries" as finished-goods demand, and MRP "generates purchase order recommendations based upon future batch orders calculated by MPS."
• Shelf life and formula versions in planning. Planning can "consider future expired inventory and future versions of your formulas and bill of materials."
• Scheduling with real constraints. The scheduler accounts for available labor, equipment cost, inventory shortages and machine sequencing, and MPS supports what-if analysis.

Where does planning stop in Deacom and BatchMaster?

Neither system lacks planning. The limit is narrower than that: in both, the forecast is something a planner builds, runs or enters, and MRP works from whatever it's given.

Deacom: the planner picks the method and runs it

• The method is a choice. The Forecast Method field "determines the method that will be used to generate the Forecast." The planner sets it. Launched from the Forecasts pre-filter, the only option is Manual.
• Forecasts are generated on request, from the Create Forecast form, using the method the planner selected.
• Trend changes are applied as a percentage. The Enter Percent Increase form applies "a percent increase to all the parts displayed in the Forecast grid," or to a selected bucket.

For a planner with a few hundred SKUs and one or two channels, that's manageable. Across a catalog sold through retail, wholesale, DTC and Amazon, keeping the right method on every SKU becomes a job of its own.

BatchMaster: the forecast is an input to MPS

• Forecast entries feed MPS. MPS "allows for the creation of sales forecasts based on historical purchases, received orders, and other forecasting metrics," and "either actual or forecast demand can be used to generate an MPS plan." BatchMaster's published MPS and MRP materials don't name the methods used, and its module list has no separate forecasting module.
• The stock buffer is a minimum stock level. Among the demand sources MPS and MRP plan against is "quantities below minimum stock level," a level held on the item.

That isn't the same as saying BatchMaster can't forecast. It means the plan MPS produces is only as good as the forecast entries that go into it, and those are often built outside the ERP.

Why is replacing the ERP usually the wrong fix?

A new ERP replaces the parts of Deacom and BatchMaster that work, to fix the one part that doesn't.

• Formulas, lots, batch tickets, quality and compliance records all have to be rebuilt and re-validated in the new system. That's the bulk of an ERP project, and none of it improves the forecast.
• The new ERP's MRP still needs a forecast. If the forecast is built the same way, MRP produces the same purchase orders from the same inputs.
• Implementation cost is mostly outside the license. We cover where that money goes in the hidden costs of enterprise planning software.

The cheaper fix is to keep the ERP as the system of record and improve the forecast it plans from.

What does a planning layer add above the ERP?

A demand planning layer does the work upstream of MRP and leaves the ERP doing what it already does. This is how the jobs split between the ERP and Planster, which is demand and supply planning software for consumable CPG brands, manufacturers and co-manufacturers.

The forecast

Planster's forecasting picks a model for each SKU from that SKU's own history, detects seasonality per SKU, and lets you exclude stockout periods so they don't drag the forecast down. It keeps a rolling forecast current as new data arrives, rather than waiting for someone to generate one. Retail is planned bottom-up from each retailer's doors and velocity, and each channel is planned separately before the plans are combined.

The cost of a decision, before you commit

Scenario planning (Master Plan) runs a promotion or a retailer launch through the ordering logic and shows which purchase orders move and how much capital is committed, before anyone approves it. Approved plans keep a version history and can be rolled back. Retail deal planning (Pipeline) puts a retailer deal into the plan at full volume, with the date you have to order by to make the launch.

Every morning

With the forecast and the order logic in place, Planster re-checks every SKU, open order and channel overnight. The morning email ranks the decisions that need you, and the purchase orders are drafted for a planner to approve.

Does Planster connect to Deacom or BatchMaster today?

No. Planster does not have a native Deacom or BatchMaster connector today, and we'd rather say so here than on the third call.

• Planster's live ERP connections include NetSuite, through Trackstar, and Sage 100 Premium. Every ERP connection is read-only and nightly. See integrations.
• Planster also connects to 150+ warehouses, 3PLs and sales channels through Trackstar.
• BatchMaster with Sage 100 is a trap to know about. In that pairing, BatchMaster holds inventory, sales orders and purchasing, so a Sage 100 connection on its own would miss that data.

If you run Deacom or BatchMaster, bring it up on the first call. We'll tell you plainly what getting your data into Planster would take.

When is Deacom or BatchMaster on its own the better fit?

Sometimes the ERP's own planning is enough, and adding another system isn't worth it.

• You make to order. If demand is known from orders in hand, MPS planning from actual sales orders does the job, and a statistical forecast adds little.
• Your catalog is small and sold through one or two channels. A Deacom planner can keep the right method on a few hundred SKUs, and Deacom's promotional lift covers simple promotions.
• Your problem is the schedule, not the forecast. Both ERPs schedule production against capacity, and BatchMaster's scheduler also accounts for labor and equipment. Planster doesn't replace that and has no optimization solver.
• Shelf life drives the plan. BatchMaster plans around future expired inventory. Planster's safety stock is days of cover and doesn't plan by expiry date.

If none of those describe you, and the forecast behind MRP still lives in a spreadsheet, the fix is a better forecast going into the ERP you already run. For more on how the two planning jobs fit together, see supply planning vs demand planning.