| Universal Database Connectivity
The Problem
At many customer sites, historical sales and demand data already exist in corporate “host” databases, where they are constantly updated, analyzed and used in a variety of planning applications. What is needed is a direct, efficient way to also use these data for demand forecasting and inventory optimization purposes and then make the results available to other planning tools, such as ERP and SCM systems. In this way, you can deploy best-of-class forecasting and planning software in a way that leverages your prior expenditures on information technology.
The Smart Solution
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| General model for SmartForecasts’ database integration Click here for full-size screenshot
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Because of Smart Software’s commitment to Universal Database Connectivity, you can easily establish a direct connection between SmartForecasts and all major corporate databases, such as Oracle, SQL Server and DB2 hosted on Windows, the IBM iSeries and Unix-based systems. SmartForecasts even works with PC databases like MS Access. With the powerful database integration “wizards” available in SmartForecasts, your IT staff can quickly establish the initial linkage and then make it easy for users to draw on your host database as needed for their individual requirements.
If you already use major planning systems, such as SAP and Oracle ERP, it is straightforward to interface with the data tables produced by those products. In addition, Smart Software partners Epicor and Sage have built their own custom interfaces that fully integrate SmartForecasts. And if your sales and demand data reside not in a corporate database but in Excel or ASCII text files, SmartForecasts can easily handle your requirements.
The Benefits
With SmartForecasts, you can immediately connect to your data with little or no hassle. There is absolutely no need to export data from your host database, because the connection to your existing data is direct and constantly available. The bottom line is you can seamlessly plug SmartForecasts into your current IT infrastructure and have it provide the forecasting and inventory planning inputs necessary to drive your other planning systems. And there is another added bonus: using Smart Software’s database wizards, the time required of your IT staff to establish connections is a fraction of the time already invested in creating the original databases.
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