Opening the doors to AI-driven sales forecasting

About Marantec

Marantec is a pioneer in the field of door automation and operates in over 70 countries worldwide. The company's mission is to offer customized and comprehensive solutions to simplify everyday life and contribute to a smart and liveable future. Marantec attaches great importance to innovation and was recently recognized as a Top Innovator Company 2021 in the field of electronics/electrical engineering.

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The Challenge

A reliable sales forecast is crucial for optimal planning and the interaction between procurement, warehouse and personnel. Previously, this forecast was created manually at Marantec by a few specialized people, which made the process time-consuming and error-prone. Marantec was looking for a solution to automate this process and create more accurate and reliable forecasts.

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The Solution

Kineo supported Marantec in automating and improving their sales forecasting through the use of AI. Together, the flagship project "Lighthouse" was launched to evaluate the quality and quantity of existing data and determine the added business value of the AI application.

A key to the success of the project was the close collaboration with Marantec's Head of Operations, Eva Stankewitz, and Head of Information Technology, Heiko Ennen. The expertise of these experts helped to integrate domain information quickly and efficiently and to understand Marantec's specific needs.

For the sales forecast, Kineo analyzed monthly aggregated sales data per product and trained customized time series models for each of Marantec's unique products. The selection of the right model was based on characteristics such as purchase frequency, price variance and data volume. The goal was to minimize forecasting errors and improve planning for production, storage and human resources. An overstocking rate of 15% was taken into account to avoid logistical delays.

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The Impact

The introduction of ML-supported sales forecasting reduced forecasting errors by more than 80% and improved planning for production, storage and personnel resources. This improvement led to more efficient operations and higher customer satisfaction. Marantec was so impressed with the results that they continued to work with Kineo on other use cases, and also scaled the sales forecasting to other plants.

The use of artificial intelligence revolutionized sales forecasting at Marantec. The AI-driven optimization algorithms enabled more precise and efficient planning and helped to avoid logistical bottlenecks. This demonstrates the transformative potential of AI in the field of sales forecasting and underlines the importance of technological innovation for operational optimization.

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Testimonial

Eva Stankewitz from Marantec was positive about the collaboration with Kineo:

„Working with Kineo has inspired us and brought us a big step closer to our goals. Kineo helped us to implement our planning project in a structured and efficient way. In addition, the use of AI-based models was a great experience for us. The way we worked together was also in line with our values, pleasant and uncomplicated.“

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