Spryker Reduces Time Spend on Resourcing by 50% with Forecast

‍Spryker, a global leader in digital commerce solutions, empowers businesses to adapt and scale with its composable commerce platform. At the heart of Spryker’s success is a commitment to operational excellence and efficient resource management. Verena Ott, Senior Resource Manager at Spryker, shared how the adoption of Forecast has revolutionized their resource allocation, staffing processes, and project planning.

The Challenge

Before implementing Forecast, Spryker relied on Google Sheets for resource management. While functional, this system presented several challenges:

1. Manual Processes: Resource allocations required significant manual effort. Updating schedules, identifying dependencies, and resolving overbookings could take up to an hour or more for complex projects.
2. Lack of Real-Time Visibility: The Google Sheets approach lacked the transparency needed for effective decision-making. Dependencies like overlapping schedules, holidays, and skill mismatches were hard to spot.
3. Inconsistent Reporting: Building reports on key metrics was time-intensive, prone to errors, and offered limited insights due to static data

Spryker needed a solution that could centralize resource management, enhance visibility, and deliver actionable insights, all while supporting its rapid growth and diverse project requirements..

The Solution

Forecast emerged as the perfect fit for Spryker’s growing needs, offering a centralized platform with advanced AI-powered features. 

Verena highlighted three key ways Forecast transformed their resource management:

1. Simplified Resource Allocation: Forecast’s intuitive scheduling tools and heatmap views enabled Spryker to identify overbookings, skill gaps, and holiday overlaps within minutes. Resource adjustments that once took an hour were now completed in moments.
2. Improved Transparency: With real-time visibility into project schedules and team capacities, both resource managers and project managers could proactively address potential bottlenecks. This proactive approach significantly reduced the risk of delays.
3. Enhanced Reporting: The ability to generate complex reports with real-time data empowered Spryker to make informed, strategic decisions. Forecast’s AVA analytics tool allowed them to analyze KPIs like capacity planning, utilization, and project profitability with ease.

“The quality of our reporting has become so much better since using Forecast. Because everything is calculated by a system and not a person, the risk of errors is very low.”.

Implementation Journey

Adopting Forecast marked a pivotal shift in Spryker’s resource management. The key phrases of their implementation included:

• Streamlined Onboarding: Forecast’s user-friendly interface and dedicated support team ensured a smooth adoption process.
• Tailored Reporting: The team quickly leveraged Forecast’s configurability to define their KPIs and build reports that aligned with their operational goals.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: With Forecast’s transparent dashboards, Spryker’s project managers and resource managers worked together more effectively, ensuring projects stayed on track and teams remained aligned.

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"The transparency that Forecast gives us has a lot of different advantages, but proactivity is the main word here. We see overbookings or potential risks way before they actually become a reality."

How Forecast Made an Impact

The integration of Forecast delivered measurable improvements across Spryker’s operations:

Time Savings

Resource allocation processes were reduced by 50–60%, freeing up valuable time for strategic planning and team development.

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Proactive Resource Management

Real-time insights enabled Spryker to identify potential resource gaps and overbookings before they became critical issues, ensuring projects ran smoothly.

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Data-Driven Decisions

Forecast’s AVA tool consolidated data from multiple sources, enabling accurate budget planning and capacity forecasting for the year ahead. This transparency supported better hiring decisions and optimized resource utilization.

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Growth of Client Accounts

Forecast’s ability to track unused client budgets allowed Spryker to proactively suggest upsell opportunities or ensure customers fully utilized their contracts, boosting client satisfaction and maximizing revenue.

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The Results

Since adopting Forecast, Spryker has transformed its approach to project and resource management, achieving new levels of efficiency, accuracy, and collaboration.

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Key achievements include:

• Resource allocation times reduced by over 50%.
• Improved accuracy in reporting and forecasting.
• Strengthened client relationships through proactive communication and precise budget tracking.
• Optimized resource utilization, contributing to stronger project outcomes and team performance.

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Looking ahead, Spryker remains committed to maximizing the potential of Forecast’s features to drive continuous improvement. Their future plans focus on expanding reporting dashboards to gain deeper insights into team performance and project health.

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"The biggest change since introducing Forecast has been having this level of transparency and being able to make dedicated, data-driven decisions based on accurate and real-time information."

Final Thoughts

By addressing Spryker’s operational challenges and providing real-time insights, Forecast has become an essential tool for optimizing resource allocation, enhancing team collaboration, and driving project success.

With Forecast’s capabilities, Spryker has not only achieved greater operational efficiency but also positioned itself for sustained growth in the competitive digital commerce landscape.

As Spryker continues to expand its global presence, the insights and efficiencies gained through Forecast will undoubtedly play a critical role in supporting its ambitious goals and delivering exceptional value to its clients.

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