Over the past two decades, I’ve worked with companies across sectors to help them implement Advanced Planning Systems (APS) — not just as a software tool, but as a driver of real business transformation. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: no matter how strong the technology, your project goes nowhere without executive support.
That’s exactly why I wanted to share what really works when it comes to convincing CEOs, CFOs, and other decision-makers to invest in APS — based on our decades-long experience at Solventure helping supply chain professionals secure the much-needed C-level buy-in for their APS investments.
One of the biggest mistakes I see supply chain people make, is presenting APS from a purely technical angle — forecast accuracy, planning granularity, constraint-based optimization. Those are important, but they’re not what gets a CFO to sign off.
Executives want to know what the value proposition is: how an APS will impact working capital, improve margins, reduce inventory, or enable growth. So, when we build business cases, we focus on financial outcomes. For instance, how a bottoms-up demand planning can provide a stronger baseline for next year’s gross margin projections. That speaks to their language.
Timing is critical. If your company is already moving into a big ERP transformation, that’s the perfect moment to introduce APS. I’ve seen this firsthand with our customer Hero Group, who were moving from a fragmented ECC landscape to SAP S/4HANA, and they didn’t want to wait for the new ERP to start harmonizing planning.
In this situation, we built a combined business case for ERP plus APS. Interestingly, 70 to 80% of the business benefits came from the APS layer. APS added the intelligence and harmonization the ERP alone couldn’t provide. So, if your organization is making a major systems investment, that’s your window to position APS as a value multiplier.
APS is not just about operational efficiency. It can be a key enabler for strategic growth. Let me give you an example: we’ve worked with Poppies, a major private-label bakery manufacturer, for over a decade.
Early on, they were highly decentralized — especially in supply chain and logistics. We helped them centralize demand planning and tie it to financial planning. Later, as they moved to S/4HANA, we helped redesign their supply chain processes with APS at the core. That integration didn’t just improve planning — it supported a business that grew to €400–500 million in turnover. And APS became part of that transformation journey.
At Solventure, we’re not just implementers — we’re partners. In fact, in the Hero case, we tied our fees to performance: if we delivered the promised functionality on time and on budget, great. But we also had the opportunity to earn a bonus for delivering the anticipated business benefits — and the risk of losing out if we didn’t.
This kind of “bonus/malus” model isn’t just about accountability — it’s about trust. When a CEO sees that we’re willing to share the risk, it changes the dynamic of the conversation. I believe more partners in our space should be doing this.
Not every company needs the most complex or configurable APS platform on day one. Over the years, we’ve developed maturity models and data quality scans to help organizations understand where they stand — and what kind of APS investment makes sense for their stage.
Some clients benefit from a preconfigured solution; others need a full enterprise-grade system. The key is making sure the solution fits your business — not the other way around.
This may sound controversial, but I’m not religious about planning methodologies. Whether it’s DDMRP, statistical forecasting, or something else — what matters most is: are we delivering business results?
Too often, I see people get lost in methodology debates. Meanwhile, the CFO just wants to know: are we improving margin, reducing inventory, or enabling new business models? That’s why I always steer conversations back to outcomes.
I recently spoke with a company shifting from contract manufacturing to retail-facing private label. They used to get monthly orders and forecasts — but retail will require same-day responsiveness, with no forecast. That’s a business model shift. APS is how they’ll build the forecasting and planning capabilities they need to make that shift. The point is: method matters less than result.
Ultimately, APS implementations are complex. They’re data-intensive, require process harmonization, and demand new ways of working. I understand why some executives hesitate — maybe they’ve had a bad experience in the past.
But here’s my message to them: the difference today is not just the tools, but the way we approach them. At Solventure, we don’t just deliver software — we partner with you to identify where the benefits are, and we commit to delivering them together.
That’s what C-level decision-makers want to hear — and that’s what gets proposals across the line.
Want to know if your company is ready for APS? We offer maturity assessments, data quality scans, and inventory performance benchmarks to help you build a roadmap with confidence. If you’re ready to explore the potential, we’re ready to walk the journey with you.
Watch our webinar: From Proposal to Approval — Securing C-Level Buy-In for APS Investments
In this session, we’ll share practical tips, examples, and show you how to build a business case that truly speaks to your CFO and CEO.
