Fact based sales planning at Lucas Bols

Lucas Bols is remarkably innovative, both in the development of new products and in its controls. External data is combined in the platform platform with its own data to achieve detailed sales planning.

Predictability is essential, says Eric de Vries, Finance Director Brands & Markets at Lucas Bols: "We work in 110 countries with more than 20 brands, with all the dynamics that go with it. To be able to respond quickly to this, you need a good forecast. The more detailed you can plan, the more predictable you become."

"We want to be able to quickly see the implications of trends and developments."

Sales planning

To achieve this, a flexible platform is used for sales planning. The effects of trends and developments are immediately calculated in this. "We want to be able to quickly see the consequences, for example, if excise taxes are increased somewhere or if the Argentine peso devalues. We also want to be able to properly assess the impact of global situations," Eric says.

With over 20 brands in 110 countries, Lucas Bols is a major global player in liqueurs, genevers, gin and vodka. The organization has existed for 444 years, making it one of the Netherlands' oldest active companies. Despite this long company tradition, the beverage company is very innovative. For example, new products are constantly being developed to respond to trends in consumer behavior, such as cocktails with less alcohol or fewer calories.

Support growth strategy

Lucas Bols aims to further strengthen and grow its global brands, such as Bols and Galliano. Detailed sales planning supports this strategy. "You have to be able to provide insight into where you think growth is going to come from, and how you are going to achieve it," Eric says.

With these insights, specific kpi's for the commercial team and marketing are established. Eric: "It's good if you can back up the achievement of goals with the facts. From finance, we can use the data to show whether something is successful or not."

Combine external data with proprietary forecast for one sales schedule

The forecast is fact-based and very detailed. A significant part of this data comes from external parties. In turn, part of the forecast is shared with another external party. This fits with Lucas Bols' organizational model: "Only in the US do we have our own subsidiary, and in the Netherlands a joint venture where we own 50%. The rest is external: production is outsourced and for each market there is a distributor," Eric explains. "We compare the forecast of the 100 external distributors with the forecast of our commercial team. Then we translate the results into a sales planning for the external production party."

"Instead of discussions about the calculations, there are now questions about the details. The quality of conversations goes up with that."

Faster and better forecasts

Eric is positive about the new planning model in the platform. "The big advantage is that you can calculate the scenarios much faster. Within an hour I know the consequences of something we see happening outside. Previously it took us 1 to 2 days to do that, and we had to do a lot more manual calculation."

The quality of the forecast has also improved. "Instead of discussions about the calculations, there are now questions about the details. The conversations are more about the content than the process. As a result, the quality goes up."

Fully automated sales planning

Eric is constantly working to further optimize the planning process step by step. "Besides trends on volumes, I also want trend planning around prices: which flavors are doing well, and what are the consequences for our margins. I also want to add more external sources, for example around consumer behavior. My ultimate goal is a fully automated forecast, where the trend measurements are already in there."

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