Breaking the Supply Chain Planning-Execution Barrier with Manhattan Active® Supply Chain Planning

Manhattan recently joined the billion-dollar revenue club, a milestone that underscores decades of leadership in supply chain innovation. As highlighted in a recent Forbes article by Steve Banker, this achievement is fueled by Manhattan’s commitment to unifying planning and execution—a vision that comes to life in Manhattan Active® Supply Chain Planning (SCP).

For years, businesses have struggled with a fundamental disconnect between supply chain planning and execution. Demand forecasts, replenishment strategies, and inventory allocations often fail to align with the real-world constraints of warehouses and transportation networks. The result? Unrealistic plans, operational bottlenecks, and costly inefficiencies.

Manhattan Active SCP removes the effects of internal operational silos by enabling bi-directional collaboration across planning and execution systems—ensuring supply chain decisions are not only optimized but also realistic, achievable, and responsive to real-time conditions.

The Challenge: The “Shop Floor to Top Floor” Disconnect

One of the biggest challenges in supply chain management is what manufacturers call the “shop floor to top floor disconnect”—when strategic plans made at the corporate level fail to translate into practical, executable actions on the warehouse floor or transportation dock.

Example:

• A highly optimized demand forecast might drive inventory replenishment—but if warehouse labor constraints or dock congestion aren’t factored in, fulfillment delays are inevitable.
• A promotional campaign could drive a surge in demand—but if warehouse slotting and pallet-building logistics aren’t considered, the influx could overwhelm distribution centers.

These misalignments lead to inefficiencies, excess costs, and missed revenue opportunities.

Enter Manhattan Active SCP.

Manhattan Active SCP: Bridging the Gap Between Planning & Execution

Manhattan Active SCP eliminates these disconnects by providing bi-directional collaboration between planning and execution. Instead of operating in silos, Manhattan Active SCP, Warehouse Management (WM), and Transportation Management (TMS) work as one interconnected system.

How It Works:

Warehouse-Aware Planning

Manhattan Active SCP understands warehouse constraints—factoring in storage capacity, labor availability, equipment limitations, and dock scheduling. This prevents bottlenecks by ensuring inventory is moved, slotted, and picked in alignment with real warehouse capabilities.

Transportation-Optimized Execution

Manhattan Active SCP also integrates with Manhattan Active TMS to optimize shipments based on real-world transportation constraints. Instead of assuming perfect pallet configurations and trailer capacity, SCP dynamically adjusts plans to prevent underutilized space, inefficient routes, or product damage due to poor stacking logic.

Example:

• Before SCP-TMS collaboration: A retailer might plan to ship six layers of cartons per pallet, but the actual physical constraints allow only five layers, leading to last-minute rework and shipment delays.
• After SCP-TMS collaboration: The system automatically accounts for stacking rules, weight distribution, and crushability before the shipment is planned, ensuring efficient truckloads and on-time deliveries.

Manhattan Active Supply Chain Planning with Unified Business Planning unifies all planning functions into a single, cloud-native platform, enabling:

• Holistic Supply Chain Synchronization – Demand forecasts, replenishment, and allocation plans are fully integrated to avoid overstocking, stockouts, or misallocated inventory.
• Real-Time Plan Adjustments – Manhattan Active SCP works bi-directionally with execution systems like WMS, TMS, and Order Management (OM), making immediate adjustments based on real-time constraints.
• AI-Powered Decision Intelligence – Machine learning continuously analyzes demand trends, inventory levels, and operational capacity to generate smarter, data-driven plans.
• Cost Optimization – By aligning demand, supply, and execution within the same ecosystem, businesses can reduce excess costs and improve profitability.

The Impact: A More Agile, Efficient, and Profitable Supply Chain

By eliminating silos and enabling bi-directional collaboration, Manhattan Active SCP transforms supply chain operations with tangible benefits:

• More Feasible Plans – Manhattan Active SCP ensures forecasts and allocations align with real-world constraints, reducing last-minute disruptions.
• Higher Efficiency – Optimized warehouse and transportation execution lowers costs and speeds up fulfillment.
• Greater Agility – Supply chains can quickly adjust to changing market conditions and customer demands.
• Reduced Waste – Improved planning and execution alignment minimizes inefficiencies and product loss.

A Paradigm Shift in Supply Chain Planning

The days of isolated, disconnected supply chain systems are over. Manhattan Active SCP is ushering in a new era of connected, intelligent, and executable planning.

By unifying supply chain planning seamlessly with execution, businesses can finally achieve true supply chain orchestration—ensuring that every decision, from forecast to fulfillment, is optimized, achievable, and profit-driven.