Smarter, Faster, Safer Planning: What’s New in Supply Planning

In supply chain planning, the smallest change can send ripples across production, inventory, and service levels.  

When a supplier runs late or demand spikes unexpectedly, planners often scramble — waiting hours for recalculations or building temporary spreadsheet models just to answer a simple question: What if? 

The lates release of TransImpact’s Avercast Supply Planning changes that. With two major updates — What-If Mode in Supply Planning and Scenario Planning in S&OP — planners and business leaders can model, compare, and act on change faster than ever, without risking data integrity or slowing operations. 

What-If Mode: Instant Insight Without the Risk 

Planners asked for a faster, safer way to see how a change impacts the order plan. 
Now, they have it. 

What-If Mode is a secure, temporary workspace inside the live planning environment that lets users test decisions before they happen. No exports, no risk, no waiting for overnight runs. 

With What-If Mode, planners can: 

• Adjust inputs like demand, lead time, or shipment timing.
• Instantly see how the change affects inventory, service, and replenishment.
• Close the mode — all edits disappear automatically, and the live plan stays clean. 

It’s quick, risk-free decision-making for inventory optimization, making it perfect for teams managing hundreds of SKUs or responding to supplier delays, demand spikes, or executive requests. 

A Real-World Scenario: The Two-Week Supplier Slip 

Let’s consider this example.  A mid-market distributor is heading into peak season. Their best-selling SKU is sourced overseas. Everything looks fine until Tuesday morning: 

Supplier alert: “Due to port congestion, shipments may be delayed two weeks.” 

This would normally trigger spreadsheet chaos: 

• Multiple Excel versions
• Broken formulas
• Hours recalculating weeks on hand
• Leadership waiting for answers 

With What-If Mode, the planner switches into a fast, safe calculation environment and immediately evaluates the impact across: 

• Gross Requirements
• Planned Receipts
• Ending Inventory
• Resulting Planned Orders
• Projected Weeks on Hand 

What-If #1: Push POs Out Two Weeks 

The planner instantly sees: 

• Which SKUs will stock out
• How long shortages will last
• How weeks on hand collapse
• Which items may require expediting 

What-If #2: Adjust Sales Orders 

If demand spikes or orders pull forward, the planner can edit sales orders, recalculate, and confirm whether demand shaping is needed — without updating the real plan. 

The Value of What-If Mode 

• No manual math
• No spreadsheet dependencies
• No risk to the live plan
• A fast, zero-risk workspace for tactical decision-making 

Once the planner selects the best path forward, they close What-If Mode and return to the untouched source of truth to update the real plan with confidence. 

Scenario Planning: From Forecasts to Financially-Sound Strategies 

What-If Mode gives planners the speed to react. Scenario Planning gives leaders the clarity to choose the best strategy. 

Scenario Planning in S&OP provides a shared, data-driven view of how different options play out across revenue, margin, inventory, and service. This occurs without having to juggle spreadsheets or debate which version is real. Teams can: 

• Build and compare multiple business scenarios side-by-side. 

• Apply consistent assumptions across products, price points, or regions. 

• See instant companywide impact on sales, margin, and inventory.  

• Collaborate across departments with built-in visibility and change tracking. 

By replacing spreadsheets with one shared view, Scenario Planning helps organizations anticipate change instead of reacting to it. 

What Scenario Planning Saves 

Each scenario is saved as a formal version with: 

• All scenario modifications
• All assumptions
• All financial inputs
• Baseline vs. scenario comparisons
• Autosaved records for future review 

This becomes the company’s system of record for evaluating strategic choices — not a scratchpad.  

Financial Modeling Built In 

Scenario Planning goes beyond units and inventory. Users can adjust: 

• This Period Consensus
• Finance Budget 
• Consensus Margin 
• Average Selling Price
• Average Cost 

Margin rate updates automatically. With Net Impact Mode, planners can express the financial delta from baseline: 

• Margin gained or lost
• Revenue impact
• Cost impact
• Gross profit  

Totals remain intentionally hidden for ASP, Average Cost, and End-of-Period Projected Inventory to avoid misleading rollups. 

Building Strategic Scenarios 

Using the same supplier-delay example above, leadership may build a structured set of options: 

Scenario A: Do Nothing 

• Accept the two-week slip
• Four SKUs show shortages
• Revenue loss and margin compression clearly modeled 

Scenario B: Expedite One PO 

• Adjust replenishment timing
• Adjust consensus, cost, and margin assumptions
• Improved inventory position with fewer stockouts
• Higher costs but better margin preservation 

Scenario C: Demand Shaping 

• Adjust sales order timing (e.g., promotional shifts or channel reprioritization)
• Update ASP and Finance Budget 
• Reduce supply risk without freight premiums
• Balanced revenue and margin impact 

Side-by-Side Comparisons 

Leaders can compare: 

• Changes from baseline
• Inventory health
• Margin & revenue impact
• Weeks on hand
• Lost sales prevented
• Ending inventory 

Each scenario includes an Assumptions section documenting: 

• Why timing changed
• What sales/supplier inputs were used
• Which financial levers were adjusted 

Everything is autosaved. Everything is documented. Everything is comparable. 

Hindsight Built In 

Scenario Planning becomes a library of decisions. Teams can revisit past scenarios to understand what worked — and what didn’t. This hindsight becomes a strategic advantage, strengthening forecasting, budgeting, and long-range planning discipline. 

Why It Matters 

Markets are moving faster, and expectations are higher. Planners and executives need real-time visibility to make smarter decisions that balance risk, cost, and opportunity. 

These new capabilities deliver: 

• Speed: Immediate answers without exports or overnight runs
• Safety: Freedom to test ideas without altering live plans
• Alignment: Shared visibility for better cross-functional decisions
• Clarity: Documented assumptions and financial impact for every option 

Together, What-If Mode and Scenario Planning transform planning from reactive to interactive. This results in stronger margins, fewer surprises, and faster alignment. 

Plan Smarter. Move Faster. Make Every Decision Count. 

The future of planning isn’t reactive — it’s interactive. With TransImpact’s  Supply Planning, you can explore options safely, align teams faster, and act with clarity in every situation. 

See what’s new today – request a demo.