How did Telenco move from Excel to automated demand planning?

Moving from Excel to demand planning software was never about rebuilding the spreadsheet inside a nicer interface. Three things changed.

Frequency first: forecasts and inventory levels are recalculated continuously instead of being rebuilt by hand on a monthly cycle. Then the calculation itself: a single-number forecast paired with a fixed safety stock gives way to a range of probable demand and a coverage level sized on each reference's own uncertainty. And finally the planner's role, which shifts from producing the plan to arbitrating the exceptions.

In practice, the project starts by connecting a handful of tables already sitting in the ERP: demand history, stock, open orders, and item and supplier parameters. At Telenco the result is a week of planning work compressed into a single day, 4 days freed every month, across 486 own-manufactured references whose supplier lead times reach 6 to 7 months on some products.