If you’re tasked with demand planning for a B2B business, you already know the pain: forecast wrong and you’re either drowning in inventory or apologizing for missed shipments. There’s no shortage of software promising to make your job easier—Forecastpro, SAP IBP, Anaplan, NetSuite, and a dozen others. But which ones actually deliver, and what’s just marketing fluff? This guide is for operators, planners, and anyone tired of “AI-powered” mystery boxes. Let’s get practical about what these tools do, where they trip up, and what really matters for accurate, actionable demand planning.
What Actually Matters in B2B Demand Planning Software
Before we get into the weeds, here’s what’s non-negotiable if you want reliable forecasts:
- Accuracy: Can the tool actually improve your forecast, or is it just a fancy spreadsheet?
- Transparency: Can you see and tweak what’s going on, or is it a black box?
- Integration: Does it play nice with your existing ERP, CRM, and sales data?
- Usability: Will your team actually use it, or will they keep exporting to Excel?
- Scalability: Does it keep up as you add products or markets, or does it bog down?
Let’s put Forecastpro head-to-head with other common B2B “GTM” (go-to-market) solutions on these points.
Forecastpro: Where It Shines (and Where It Doesn’t)
Forecastpro is well-known in supply chain circles for being purpose-built for demand forecasting—not just another “platform” with a forecasting module tacked on. Here’s where it stands out:
What Works
- Statistical Breadth: Tons of proven forecasting models (ARIMA, exponential smoothing, etc.)—not just buzzwords.
- Speed to Value: You can get useful forecasts out of the box, without a six-month implementation slog.
- Visibility: You see what model is being used, why, and can override it if you’re seeing something the algorithm misses.
- Batch Processing: Handles large product catalogs and complex hierarchies without choking.
What Doesn’t
- UI/UX: It’s not winning design awards. Feels a bit dated compared to shinier SaaS tools.
- Collaboration: If you want a lot of workflow bells and whistles (comments, tasks, approvals), you’ll need to bolt on something else.
- Data Prep: Garbage in, garbage out. Data cleanup is still your problem.
What to Ignore
- Any talk of “AI” or “machine learning” being a magic bullet. Forecastpro uses solid, time-tested models. That’s usually a good thing.
How Forecastpro Compares to Other B2B GTM Solutions
Let’s look at how Forecastpro stacks up against the other big names you’ll run into.
1. SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP)
What SAP IBP Does Well:
- End-to-End: Covers demand, supply, inventory, and S&OP in one platform.
- Integration: If you’re already married to SAP, it’s seamless.
- Collaboration: Built-in workflow, scenario planning, and what-if analysis.
Where It Falls Down:
- Complexity: Implementation is a monster. Count on six figures and months of work.
- Cost: Not for the faint of heart or the small-to-midsize business.
- Forecasting Depth: Forecasting is one feature among many—less flexible than Forecastpro for statistical tinkering.
Bottom Line: Great if you’re running a global supply chain and have deep pockets. Overkill for most B2B teams focused mainly on demand planning.
2. Anaplan
What Anaplan Does Well:
- Flexibility: You can model almost anything—demand, territory, quotas, budgets.
- Collaboration: Real-time, multi-user planning and what-if scenarios.
- Cloud-Based: Easy access, frequent updates.
Where It Falls Down:
- Setup: Building models takes serious time and expertise.
- Forecasting Specificity: Not built for advanced statistical forecasting out of the box. You’ll need to build or buy those models.
- Price: Not cheap, especially when you factor in consulting.
Bottom Line: Good if you want a planning Swiss Army knife and have the team to support it. But for pure demand forecasting, Forecastpro is faster and deeper.
3. NetSuite Demand Planning
What NetSuite Does Well:
- Integration: If you’re already on NetSuite ERP, it’s built in.
- Basic Forecasts: Can generate simple, time-series forecasts with some manual overrides.
- Ease of Access: No extra logins or data shuffling.
Where It Falls Down:
- Forecasting Models: Limited to moving averages and basic trending. Not great for complex or volatile demand.
- Customization: Not much room for statistical tuning.
- Scale: Starts to bog down with lots of SKUs or locations.
Bottom Line: Fine for basic, stable businesses. If forecasting is mission-critical, you’ll outgrow it fast.
4. Other Players: Kinaxis, o9, ToolsGroup, and the Rest
There are plenty of other well-marketed tools out there. Most of them:
- Focus on large, global enterprises with complex supply chains.
- Bundle demand planning into broader supply chain suites.
- Come with long implementation times and big price tags.
If you need a nimble, standalone forecasting engine, most of these are overkill. If you need deep S&OP or supply chain optimization, they’re worth a look—but don’t expect them to beat Forecastpro on pure demand planning accuracy or ease of use.
Pro Tips for Choosing (and Actually Using) Demand Planning Software
Don’t let anyone sell you “seamless AI-driven transformation.” Here’s what really matters:
- Run a Pilot: Get your real data into the tool. Don’t trust demo data or canned use cases.
- Check the Math: Can you see and understand how the forecast is built? If not, you’ll end up in Excel anyway.
- Get Buy-In: If your sales ops or planners won’t touch it, you’re wasting money.
- Mind the Data: No tool can fix bad or missing data. Clean it up before you blame the software.
- Start Simple: Don’t try to automate everything on day one. Get basic accuracy, then layer on complexity.
Pro tip: Ask each vendor to forecast the same historical periods, then compare their error rates (MAPE, RMSE, whatever makes sense for your business). You’ll see fast who’s just talking a big game.
The Honest Take: What to Use, What to Skip
- If you want fast, accurate, and transparent demand forecasts: Forecastpro is hard to beat, especially if you’re not a Fortune 500 with endless IT resources.
- If you need broader supply chain or S&OP features: SAP IBP, Anaplan, or Kinaxis might make sense—but budget time and money accordingly.
- If you want “all-in-one” with your ERP: NetSuite and similar tools are fine for basics, but don’t expect miracles.
Ignore the hype about “self-healing AI.” The best tool is the one your team actually uses—and understands.
Keep It Simple: Demand Planning Is Iterative
Don’t get paralyzed by choice or seduced by AI buzzwords. Start with what you have, pilot the short list, and focus on accuracy and usability above all. Iterate as you go. If your current process is a mess, any of these tools will help—but only if you keep it simple and stay honest about what’s working.
You don’t need a magic wand. Just a tool that helps you plan better, with less drama. And usually, that’s more about fit and follow-through than features.