Forecasting and Planning Educational Services
I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Charles for over 10 years now. He has presented many times at IBF conferences, as well as conducted 2-day workshops on our behalf. His contribution has always been extremely well received. I would describe Charles as someone extremely passionate and knowledgeable about forecasting & planning that goes above and beyond to help others. I’ve always admired his great ability teach people what he knows. I will also add, from when he was at Johnson & Johnson, he understood the value of professional development and how in order to learn from others to improve company performance, one has to contribute and participate at conferences and other programs where professionals with common challenges come together. This is probably why he’s able to better understand the challenges, as well as, find solutions for what other companies and industries face. I value his professionalism and always look forward to working with him.
Managing Director, Institute of Business Forecasting & Planning – IBF
The IBF is known as a center of learning for forecasting & planning strategies and techniques for every major industry on a global level. By becoming an IBF member you stay abreast of the latest forecasting and planning methods as well as best practices used by leading global companies. Whether you wish to learn about Demand Planning, S&OP (Sales & Operation Planning), improve forecast accuracy with CPFR (Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment), or learn about the multitude of quantitative forecasting techniques being used today, the IBF can aid you in reaching new levels of success.
Management Consulting
Mr. Novak has indepth knowledge of demand planning, forecasting and business management processes, the tools, the theory and the applications. We use him to train our own staff, our customer’s staff and to support us when we have specific needs we are unable to address.
Highly professional we do not hesitate to even refer our customers directly to him if required.
Directeur principal chez Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, Quebec, Canada
Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton (L.L.P.) has more than 2,000 employees in more than 90 offices and is a member within Grant Thornton International. Grant Thornton International is one of the world’s leading organisations of independently owned and managed accounting and consulting firms. These firms provide assurance, tax and specialist business advice to privately held businesses and public interest entities.
Transportation
The 3-day S&OP workshop was a fulfilling experience. The class offered a large scope – enough to understand the whole S&OP process, but also went into a good amount of detail about the forecasting techniques and the mathematical and statistical models. The reference manual provided with the workshop is well done and contains a lot of information. I’ve referred to it multiple times since the class.
The workshop environment is friendly and easy-going. Also, M. Novak makes it as interactive as possible.
Big point is everything regarding the systems/worksheets. Some examples shown in class and the discussions surrounding different forecasting systems gave me a jump start in building all the tools we presently use in the company. M. Novak gave me good the “to do / not to do” points that saved me many time-consuming errors.
His help gave our S&OP process a good quick start.
The in-house work was more hands on. Out of the theory, we got right into the heart of setting up Forecast Pro, the forecasting system our company had chosen to implement. Like anything else, putting in place new software can be intimidating. Nevertheless, the help of M. Novak allowed us to get the system running within a week. He helped me analyze the history, apply forecast modifiers, build events library, but most importantly helped me be autonomous with all of the above. He also had given me intelligent suggestions on how to work with the IT department, set up behind the scene database, etc.
Mr. Novak also stayed available to answer a few of my questions after our work together, which gave me the feeling I was in good hands all the way.
Demand Planning Manager, Transport Robert (1973) Ltée
Family business founded in 1946 today offers complete North American coverage by operating over 1100 trucks and 3000 trailers for dry goods, temperature controlled goods, specialized and over dimensional goods. Distribution centers in Montreal, Toronto and Quebeck City feature 2,5 million square feet of storage space.
Automotive / B2B
Great learning experience with lot of real life practical examples.
To learn how we can develop a basic forecasting tool from EXCEL is just fascinating!
Manager – Sales Planning Allocation, Proton Edar Sdn Bhd, Malaysia
PROTON cars are making their mark internationally as competitive and innovative automobiles. They are now being exported to 50 countries including the highly competitive United Kingdom and continental European markets. With concerted and unswerving commitment from customers, business associates, shareholders, government agencies, and employees, PROTON is realizing its goal of being an internationally successful Malaysian automotive manufacturer. It is achieving this by being customer oriented and by producing competitively priced and innovative products.
Pavel has helped us to see our business from a whole new perspective and designed automated reports to support our planning and evaluation meetings and make better decisions sooner. His contribution is very valuable.
Managing Director, Turck, s.r.o.
Turck is your global, customer-oriented premium partner for reliable, industry-specific automation solutions. With leading-edge technologies, wide knowledge and direct proximity to our customers we optimize your long-term success. Providing more than 15.000 sensor, interface, connectivity and fieldbus technology products, as well as HMI/PLC solutions and RFID systems, Turck offers highly efficient solutions for factory and process automation.
Foodservice Retailer
The workshop matches my expectations. I aimed to understand forecasting theory, industry environment, and gain experience on existing tools.
The workshop was practical with series of hands on activities. Although I am not responsible for hands on, it provided condense environment for me to experience execution.
Senior Director Supply Chain & QA, McDonald’s (China) Co., Ltd.
McDonald’s is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 33,000 local restaurants serving more than 64 million people in 118 countries each day. More than 80% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women.
It was the first S&OP training in our company conducted by Charles Novak that was attended by top executives of Jollibee Foods Corporation like the CEO, CFO, CMO, CPO, CIO, Country Business Group Heads, Business Support Head, Business Unit Presidents, HR Heads, Supply Chain Head, Finance Heads, and S&OP implementation team.
The training served as a benchmark in the way we do things. Charles made them understand the role of each and everyone and the support that they need to give to achieve next S&OP Maturity Level. Right after the training, we already felt more support from the top management as we made some organizational changes and implemented / adjusted some processes based on what was learned from Charles.
Thank you so much Charles and let’s plan again another session with you.
VP and Finance Head, Jollibee Foods Corporation
Jollibee is the largest fast food chain in the Philippines, operating a nationwide network of over 750 stores. A dominant market leader in the Philippines, Jollibee enjoys the lion’s share of the local market that is more than all the other multinational brands combined. The company has also embarked on an aggressive international expansion plan in the USA, Canada, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei, firmly establishing itself as a growing international QSR player.
CPG/FMCG
The training is not only theoretical but includes real business examples. Having taking so many trainings, Mr. Novak’s course is the one I mostly refer to. The statistical forecast pack / tools he shared helped me a lot in addressing many demand related needs.
Demand Manager, Beiersdorf, Middle East
World leader in skin care. Brands porfolio include Nivea, Eucerin, Labello, but also TESA (self adhesive products manfucaturer) etc. Founded 1882 in Hamburg, Germany. Beiersdorf Group is listed in the DAX index. A world leader with strong brands and innovative products. Our three global brands are NIVEA, Eucerin and La Prairie. Global presence with more than 150 affiliates and over 19,000 employees.
We were quite satisfied with the overall outcome of the work shop. Trainer, whose mastery of the topic was quite apparent, was very lucid and patient. Personal attention was also not lacking with participants having individual sufficient time with Charles both inside and outside the workshop.
Regional Director – Supply Chain Management, Asia Pacific at Perfetti Van Melle Asia Pacific
Perfetti Van Melle is producing and distributing candies and chewing gums in more than 150 countries worldwide. It is third largest confectionery (sugar confectionery + gum) group in the world. Several of its brands are Mentos, Frisk, Fruittella, Alpenliebe, Golia, Happydent, Vivident, Big Babol, Airheads, Chupa Chups and Smint.
Who is in a managerial position, has a mandate and wants to move the company considerably forward and feels that one has a “skeleton in the closet” in processes, organization or information systems, should not miss the S&OP seminar.
If you feel like me where there are problems in business-logistics-production processes today with a significant impact on overall efficiency, economy and so important human resources and at the same time you know how it should work optimally, but you are struggling with how to grasp and implement from strategy, processes, information systems to corporate culture, S&OP know-how gives you hope and a way to make it happen.
Nowadays, the automation and informatisation of manufacturing companies is taking place, including ours, but somehow we forget the essential to update the cornerstone – exploiting effective human potential and creating the conditions for effective management and processes with the aim of “maximum service-level” for the customer. Ultimately, it creates a critical part of the competitive advantage.
This seminar has given me many answers to this and I highly recommend it.
Production Division Director, I.D.C. Holding, a.s.
I.D.C. Holding, a.s. is the largest Slovak producer of confectionery and biscuits with annual production and sales reaching almost 38,000 tons of products and annual turnover of approximately EUR 112.6 million. The company is based on more than 100-year tradition of production in Figaro Trnava factory in Trnava and 60-year tradition of production of durable pastry in Sereď.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude as the virtual/online workshop has provided me with the expertise and an expanded my knowledge in my field. The workshop was a success for me as it further cemented my base knowledge in my field, and I was able to learn and practice new methods which I can employ in my job function. It was also truly relevant to the current economic trends in the global market as well as considering the volatile nature of the market affected by the pandemic. I can assure you that I am better equipped, and this will be applied in my forecasting process with the aim of obtaining better results which are aligned and further contributes towards my company’s overall objectives.
The workshop was very intense, and the instructor was very experienced and effective in delivering the course material. He has also established an open communication forum with the participants for continuous support regarding the course material which I greatly appreciated.
Demand Planner, Trinidad Tissues Limited
Trinidad Tissues Limited was established in 1978 and has since become the LARGEST tissue converting player in the CARICOM region. We are market leaders in the Caribbean, with a portfolio of strong residential brands and a distribution network that spans North, Central and South America.
Pharmaceutical / Healthcare
Jaguar-APS has successfully completed Sales and Operations Planning and Demand Forecasting Strategic Value Assessment (SVA) for Walmark. The SVA included all Walmark business units with the target of identifying process integration improvements and developing the road map leading to significant improvements in Walmark’s competitive position in the market and customer satisfaction. Jaguar-APS’ approach was highly professional and cooperative during the whole project.
COO / CFO, Walmark, a.s.
Walmark, a.s. (today a member of the STADA group) is a leading Czech manufacturer of food supplements and Rx products founded in 1990 with business units in eight markets directly serving eleven countries with exports world-wide. 90% of product ships to large distributors who ship to retail. Retail managed by own field sales, distributors by own KAMs.
The course was an eye-opener for me and had revealed new ideas and processes that I did not imagine before. I had a misconception of S&OP as a difficult and impractical process. Through the course, I had learned that it was not a set of rules and KPI’s, but rather a means for collaboration and consensus-based decisions.
We were able to set-up a practical S&OP process within the company that allowed us to focus on common objectives, and a process that was accepted across the different functions, and with the full support of the general manager.
Supply Chain Director, Sanofi – Aventis Singapore, Inc
A world leader in human vaccines with a broad portfolio of pharmaceutical products: prescription medicines, generics, consumer health care and animal health. 2010 sales: €34.463 million. A broad and balanced presence on both traditional and emerging markets. More than 100,000 employees in 100 countries.
I was very satisfied with the teaching approach and the forecasting methods and tools which I can use when back in my office. The trainer has very good knowledge of this subject; introduced us a lot of ways of how to do meaningful data analysis and segmentation.
Business Analysis & Competitor Intelligence Manager, Astra Zeneca, China
Astra Zeneca is a global innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company specialising in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of prescription medicines that make a meaningful difference in healthcare.
Tire Manufacturer
Charles is a very experienced speaker and the whole training has been going on smoothly and served the purpose. Clear and precise presentation. Good references examples of each topic discussed.
Marketing Planning Manager, Continental Sime Tyre, Malaysia
Continental Sime Tyre Sdn Bhd (CST), affiliated with Continental AG who is the fourth largest tyre manufacturer worldwide and one of the world’s leading suppliers to the automotive industry for tyre and brake technology, vehicle dynamic control, as well as electronic and sensor systems.
University
Charles has a wealth of experience of demand/supply planning & S&OP from a range of clients. This comes across from the use of examples in industry. I left knowing considerably more about S&OP and one-number forecasting than at the start of the day.
I would highly recommend Jaguar’s courses as they are suited to both a company setting (i.e. multiple people from within an organisation on the course) or a sole practitioner looking for training.
PhD Candidate in Management Science,
Lancaster Research Centre for Forecasting, Department of Management Science
Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster LA1 4YX, United Kingdom
The Lancaster Centre for Forecasting (LCF) leads the field in forecasting research in Europe. Our objectives are to develop applied research with companies, to facilitate knowledge-transfer between academia and business and to establish and disseminate best practices in methods, processes and systems.
Pharmacy / Retail
The most valuable outcome of the workshop was that the team got believed on the importance of working in integrated environment and understand the importance of having a process such as the S&OP where all company must working toward one objective, and having a transparency across the entire S&OP process.
Mr. Charles proves that he is one of the most expert on the field of the Demand Planning and Forecasting, where he has demonstrated his experience by using a real data of the company and had showed the team the opportunities where the company can benefit by implementing the demand planning program, and he convinced the board team on the importance to move to implement the entire S&OP program.
Vice President-Supply Chain, Al-Nahdi Medical Company
Al-Nahdi Medical Company was founded in 1986. Its operations include: 1- Retail Pharmacies. 2- Sales & Distribution of medicine, cosmetics, baby care and medical equipments. Since the beginning, Al-Nahdi pharmacies redefined the retail pharmacy market by: Opening large pharmacies which provided a convenient consumer shopping experience. Providing world class customer satisfaction through highly trained pharmacists. Currently, Al-Nahdi Company owns and operates more than 400 pharmacies in all the regions of Saudi Arabia. Now we are the largest retail pharmacy chain in the middle east and north Africa serving more than 32 million customers this year.
Direct Selling CPG / FMCG
What I like about the workshop is working with forecasting spreadsheets. A walk through the use of these spreadsheets helped us understand how the forecasting methods explained in the workshop are being implemented in the software systems. I’m very satisfied with the overall contents of the workshop.
Charles is obviously a very experienced person in the forecasting field. There were many Demand Forecasters in the workshop and for me as a marketing person who have minimal knowledge of forecast / statistical methods, Charles was able to deliver the content to two different groups of audiences.
I explored with Charles on getting a software selection for my company and the selection and implementation process that was explained to me was very well thought out and methodical.
Brand & Category Manager, Tupperware Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Tupperware is one of the most trusted names in housewares. We offer the highest quality products, with the finest design features to meet your special needs. Whether it’s getting a good, hot meal on the table at the end of a busy day, toting a nutritious lunch to work, or taking time to learn a new baking secret with your children — Tupperware makes it all possible.
Global Petrochemical Manufacturer
The knowledge of trainer was very rich and valuable. He has a good experience in both theory and practice. The workshop helped me to realize the importance of communicating forecasting with all parties, evaluate the forecasting errors and which ones to use as well as becoming familier with the general role of forecasting in SCM.
Demand Planning, Sabic, Metal-SBU, SCM, Saudi Arabia
SABIC is the largest and most profitable non-oil company in the Middle East and one of the world’s five largest petrochemicals manufacturers. It is a public company based in Riyadh: the Saudi Arabian government owns 70% of its shares, and the remaining 30% are held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Chemicals / B2B
The course was extremely interesting and full of good content. Certainly took away some reassurances that the direction we are working in is in line with best practice. Also took a few ideas for some enhancements / additions we could make.
Head of Sales and Operations Planning, Business Process Optimization, Global Supply Chain, BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. With more than 110,000 employees, six Verbund sites and approximately 380 additional production sites worldwide BASF serves customers and partners in almost all countries of the world.
FMCG / B2B
Very knowledgeable in the field of Demand Planning, Software Selection and Implementation. We could not challenge the software vendors as well without him; we just don’t have the right knowledge.
Vice-President Strategy and Performance,Bonduelle Amérique du Nord Montreal, Canada, Bonduelle
Bonduelle is a French family-run company and is the current world leader in ready-to-use vegetables, in all their forms. Founded in 1853 by Louis Bonduelle, our group provides over 100 countries with vegetables that are preserved using natural processes, in line with the fundamental values at the base of the company’s creation and development.
Consulting / SW solution
The most valuable outcome were the hands-on activities that gave the participants firsthand experience in dealing with S&OP issues such as: different views of forecast, different interest of different department in the business and the advantages of establishing a single view of demand and supply.
VP Business Development, ISCS
ISCS is an expert company, focused on helping companies realize real supply chain and revenue management results – fast. ISCS delivers integrated merchandising as well as supply chain and revenue management planning, execution, and optimization solutions for the consumer-driven supply chain and services industries. Through its industry leading solutions, leading Israeli manufacturers, distributors, retailers and services companies are growing their businesses with greater predictability and more profitably.
Charles is a fully committed and highly skilled professional. During the project we handled together, its help and strong knowledge about both organizations and supply chain have been definitely key success factors. I hope working again with him, without any doubt.
Business & Technical Advisor, SAP
As the market leader in enterprise application software, SAP is at the center of today’s business and technology revolution. SAP helps you streamline your processes, giving you the ability to use real-time data to predict customer trends across your entire business. SAP is committed to helping every customer become a best-run business.
Mr. Novak has in dept knowledge of S&OP process as well as everything you need to know about business forecasting process. I strongly recommend M Novak if your business needs assistance in those field.
Supply Chain and Operation Management, GCP Inc.
GCP, Inc. is a dynamic Healthcare/Scientific and IT Services and Solutions Firm. SBA-Certified in 2008 as an 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business, GCP’s areas of expertise include both Personal and Non-personal Services: Direct Healthcare, Medical/Scientific Support, Professional and Administrative Support Services, and Healthcare IT & Integration Services.
Retail Planning Software – Working with Charles was a really eye-opening experience. He clearly knows his subject matter inside and out, and was able to communicate the various forecasting methodologies, pros and cons, and influencing parameters.
His toolbox of illustrative spreadsheets also proved to be invaluable in seeing examples of each forecast method, and enabled us to make easy assessments of the methods that would work for our purposes.
Importantly, Charles is hugely passionate about his subject matter and how it can help your business, so I have no hesitation in recommending him.
CMO at TXT Group, TXT Group
TXT Group is providing innovative and practical solutions to the retail industry. Specific focus is on merchandise and assortment planning, allocation and decision support solution. TXT Group products and expertise make a significant difference to retailer’s profitability.
Conference and Event Organizer
As professional Event Organizers we are able to contrast your services with numerous other consultants we have hired throughout the world. My entire team have found your commitment and credentials to be among the most professional including the quality of your seminar presentation and content. You have also worked well with our Conference Producers and Administration Team in providing them all the support needed to ensure the success of the event.
The audience reaction to the events has been very positive indeed and much of this praise goes to you for your sheer professionalism, thoughtfulness and in-depth knowledge.
We feel strongly about your performance that we would recommend you with highest confidence to our counterparts for any similar work in the area. We look forward to many more seminars with your good self.
Operations Director, IBN International
Headquartered in busy and thriving Kuala Lumpur, IBN’s network fans out to the trading and commercial metropolises of Singapore, Mumbai, and those in China, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei and Middle East. Our antennae is primed to feed into world class seminars, conferences, workshops and summits that deal with a spectrum of industry needs and concerns.
Coming from a professional event organiser background, we are really impressed with the quality of your workshop delivery. You always delivered the workshops very professionally and we have countless excellent reviews and feedbacks from our delegates who attended your workshops, on your diligence, passion and in-depth knowledge on the topic.
You also worked well with our team and very were pro-active in providing us the program outlines and prompt in providing any additional information that we needed which is priceless in this fast-moving industry. Needless to say, you are one of the few excellent trainers that we have kept working with for years and we really look forward to having many more workshops with you.
Conference organizer, Marcus Evans, Singapore
A global, multifaceted media, corporate marketing and information company, employing 3000 professionals in 59 worldwide locations. Our activities are wide ranging, providing up-to-the-minute information for businesses and professionals worldwide.
Utilities
The workshop was very informative and provide participants with the relevant theory to be good forecaster and data analyst. In addition, the workshop provides participant with all the relevant skill set and tools to produce accuracy and reliable short-term forecast in the supply chain sales/marketing business sector.
Customer Services Operation Manager, GUYANA POWER & LIGHT Inc.
GUYANA POWER & LIGHT INC. (GPL) is the largest supplier of electricity in Guyana, South America with its franchise area encompassing all three counties of Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo. GPL supplies all its domestic customers with voltage ranging from 110 to 220 Volts depending on the area. The voltage distribution system of GPL is quite unique since it delivers both 50 and 60 cycle power.