• by Ray Schultz , September 16, 2019

Salesforce has launched a platform to help manufacturers obtain a unified view of their markets and serve data to their sales and operations teams.

The new platform, Manufacturing Cloud, gives users a view of changing customer demand, Salesforce says.

Several firms collaborated in a pilot program, including Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., Engines Division, Hitachi Chemical, CF Industries; Mipox and GELITA.

Changing market demands “can have a devastating effect on the bottom line, so being able to understand what is happening on the ground is imperative for success,” states Cindy Bolt, SVP and GM, Salesforce Manufacturing.

According to Salesforce, Manufacturing Cloud includes these elements:

- Sales agreements that allow firms to unify their run-rate business with data housed in ERP and order management systems along with contract terms.

- Account-Based Forecasting that provides a full view of a firm’s current business future opportunities. This breaks down internal silos between sales, finance and operations teams while allowing for more accurate forecasts, the company says. 

- Manufacturing Cloud that “bridges the gap between sales and operations teams while ensuring more predictive and transparent business, so they can build deeper and more trusted relationships with their customers.” Bolt adds.  

In addition, Salesforce has enhanced the tools in its Salesforce Customer 360 platform, including Einstein Analytics for Manufacturing, Community Cloud for Manufacturing and MuleSoft Anypoint Platform.