Škoda Auto Streamlines Long-Term Planning with an Integrated Planning Ecosystem
Škoda Auto needed to plan over a longer horizon and in greater detail, but data and processes were spread across teams. The goal was to create a unified planning platform with consistent data and connected departments.
faster planning thanks to ongoing process optimization
integrated applications for individual departments
Challenge
Aligning Multiple Planning Teams into One Unified Process
Škoda Auto aimed to plan further ahead and in greater detail across product, sales, and production. This required new data structures, aligned processes and efficient information sharing across all planning teams, from strategy and product marketing to sales forecasting, manufacturing and controlling.
Each department was operating with different inputs and timelines. To achieve consistent, more granular plans, Škoda Auto needed to unify their data into a single planning ecosystem with shared data, versions and processes.
Solution
A Unified Planning Ecosystem Built on IBM Planning Analytics and SAP HANA
The Unified Planning Ecosystem is built on a set of interconnected planning applications that support individual planning domains. These applications were developed by Adastra or brought under its stewardship; Adastra continuously maintains and expands them:
- Central planning governance: version and product management
- Volume planning management (with contributions from the world-wide sales team)
- Product development investment costs (including committee workflow support)
- Manufacturing capacity planning (based on an AI optimization model)
- CO₂ calculation and prediction (with fully customized user -interface)
- Project profit and loss calculation
- Company-wide profit and loss calculation and reporting (including a fixed-cost allocation model)
Data from these applications is consolidated into a central planning platform based on IBM Planning Analytics and SAP HANA, which Adastra currently manages and continuously evolves as the shared source of truth.
Cross-departmental planning is possible thanks to four key enablers:
- Version management: central governance of global planning versions across all applications
- Master data management: unified and consistently maintained dimensions shared across the ecosystem
- Planning key: a new, more granular product-description dimension, specifically created for this ecosystem enabling for deeper analysis
- Data marketplace: a controlled exchange layer enabling validated and consistent data flows
Impact
A More Reliable, Consistent and Faster Planning Process Across the Entire Company
The new planning ecosystem has enabled Škoda Auto to significantly improve the quality and efficiency of its long-term planning:
- Faster planning cycles thanks to streamlined workflows and parallelization
- Consistent and validated data shared across all applications
- Greater planning detail enabled by the unified product dimension
- Transparent data flows across strategy, marketing, sales, production, and controlling
- Unified platform governance with clear ownership and structured processes
Škoda Auto now plans on a unified, scalable platform that supports long-term decision-making and evolves continuously as the company’s needs grow.
