How Notium designs SAC Planning implementations — starting from business requirements, building transparent calculation logic, and automating complex multi-step workflows for real-time scenario modelling.
In today's planning landscape, organisations expect more than traditional data entry and static forecasts. They need dynamic planning models, scenario simulation, and transparent calculation logic, delivered intuitively for business users.
At Notium, we continuously refine SAC Planning demos and POCs to showcase both tool capabilities and solid methodology. Recently, a client demo exemplified our structured approach.
Start with the business, not the tool
Every successful SAC Planning implementation begins by understanding how the business actually plans. Before building models or reports, we examine key revenue and cost drivers, organisational input structures, critical calculations, P&L metrics, scenario evaluation methods, and reporting requirements — so the planning model reflects real processes rather than a generic technical setup.
Translating the process into SAC
Once business logic is clear, we establish a scalable foundation: clean dimensional models, well-organised planning structures separating inputs from calculations and outputs, and transparent, audit-friendly workflows.
Data input reports: a better way to collect assumptions
We design structured Data Input Reports addressing specific client needs rather than free-form planning — revenue drivers (units, return rates), cost drivers (BOM, shipping), operational ratios, and financial assumptions (taxes, capex). Each input validates and feeds directly into SAC's automated calculation engine, presenting users with simple, business-friendly interfaces while maintaining complexity beneath the surface.
Automating the logic with Data Actions & Multi-Actions
SAC's strength lies in executing complex multi-step calculations via a single button. Our demo automated all revenue and cost calculations, return-curve logic, opex and P&L derivations, and multi-year projections using Data Actions and Multi-Actions triggered from the story. Users enter assumptions, execute calculations, review results immediately, and iterate through what-if scenarios without manual intervention or offline tools.
Scenario-based planning
We prepared four independent versions illustrating different forecasting behaviours — volume changes, deflation assumptions, and return-rate adjustments. Each version recalculated the entire flow from units through net income and KPIs, enabling instant comparison through variance reports and charts. A modern planning solution must empower the business to test assumptions, not wait for IT to run them.
Reporting for two audiences
We design reporting for finance analysts needing structured tables and drilldowns, and executives requiring clear insights and visual trends — combining analytic grids, financial statements, KPI summaries, variance charts and trend lines so SAC delivers both depth and accessibility within one environment.
Final thoughts
Preparing this demo reinforced what makes SAC Planning powerful: balancing business understanding, technical structure, and user-centric design. Every planning model should tell the story the business wants to see — accurately, consistently, and in real time.
