Case Study: ZF Friedrichshafen achieves unified, intelligent demand planning and 15-minute forecasts with SAP SuccessFactors

How Do Intelligent Demand Planning Processes Enable Success

ZF Friedrichshafen, a global automotive technology company and leader in the aftermarket, faced fragmented legacy planning systems that limited visibility into demand and hindered effective sales and operations planning. To add intelligence and flexibility to its demand-planning processes, ZF selected SAP SuccessFactors and implemented SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP) applications for inventory and demand, together with the SAP Supply Chain Control Tower and SAP Services and Support.

SAP SuccessFactors delivered an integrated ecosystem by connecting SAP IBP to ZF’s ERP landscape, unifying global demand planning, enabling simulations and advanced analytics, and linking external data to inform marketing and demand. The implementation produced measurable benefits: 9× more planning combinations, forecast runtimes reduced from three hours to 15 minutes, improved availability with reduced inventories, and greater flexibility and visibility across sales and operations planning.

ZF Friedrichshafen

Stefan König

Head of Central Inventory Management