Case Study: Grandi Salumifici Italiani achieves accurate budgets and forecasts with SAS

Grandi Salumifici Italiani uses SAS to produce accurate budgets and forecasts

Grandi Salumifici Italiani, a leading Italian meat packer with 1,350 products, eight sales channels and a large international sales force, needed to improve forecasting and budgeting to manage long production lead times (up to 24 months) and seasonal demand peaks. The company’s challenge was to shift forecasting responsibility to the sales organization, standardize processes, prevent data manipulation and reduce costly forecast errors that lead to surplus or unavailable products.

The company implemented SAS Forecast Server and SAS Financial Management, training 15 forecasters and rolling out the system in four months. The new tools standardized monthly forecasts and top‑down budgeting, increased accountability and data transparency, reduced error margins and processing time (with features like automated highlighting of new items), and set targets to cut slow‑moving stock and product unavailability while enabling preparation of the 2009 budget and future extensions.

Grandi Salumifici Italiani

Armentano Raco

Trade Marketing Manager