WestRock’s Next-Gen Supply Chain Planning: From Function to Enterprise Enabler

Supply chain leaders have maneuvered through a historic period of recent volatility. Now, the conversation is shifting from survival to strategic transformation. The world around us is changing faster than most supply chains are built to handle. Political instability, shifting trade patterns, and economic uncertainty are no longer anomalies. They’re constants. And that means the traditional, function-first approach to supply chain planning is no longer fit for purpose.

The next generation of supply chain planning isn’t about improving the old system. It’s about rethinking the role of planning entirely.

Supply Chain is the Connective Tissue of the Enterprise

Forward-looking organizations have stopped asking, “How do we fix our supply chain?” They’re asking, “How do we make our supply chain central to enterprise value creation?”

This shift requires supply chains to act as the critical link between commercial decisions and supplier execution. Connecting demand signals with capacity, profitability, sustainability, and service. It also demands decision-making that keeps pace with today’s speed of change. According to o9's Global Vice President Industry Solutions, Brent Hasenkamp, reducing decision latency from weeks to hours or even minutes is now a strategic differentiator.

That level of agility isn’t theoretical. It’s already happening.

At WestRock, one of the world’s largest paper and packaging companies, the supply chain team is leading transformation at scale. And proving what’s possible when planning becomes proactive, data-driven, and deeply integrated across the enterprise.

A Platform to Solve Complexity at Scale

WestRock’s supply chain is complex by any measure:

• Over 30 mills and 300 converting facilities
• Multi-week lead times between production and conversion
• A global footprint and highly dynamic customer demand

The company faced a common but critical challenge. Disconnected systems and siloed processes prevented end-to-end visibility and coordination. Converting plants didn’t know what the mills were producing. Planners were reacting instead of orchestrating. And thirty-six ERP systems made alignment almost impossible.

Recognizing the need for a step change, WestRock appointed its first-ever Chief Supply Chain Officer and began laying the foundation for a fully connected planning approach.

The solution? Build a digital planning layer powered by the o9 platform to unify demand, supply, and inventory decision-making. This effort ran in parallel to a broader ERP transformation, allowing WestRock to unlock planning value immediately while preparing for deeper integration over time.

Demand First, Then Momentum

One of the early moves was strategic. Start with demand.

Before the transformation, demand data lived in disparate systems. Commercial teams manually stitched it together. There was no centralized forecast and no dedicated demand planning team.

By unifying demand planning, WestRock improved accuracy and created a foundation for downstream transformation. Once demand data was structured and trusted, it could feed into financial forecasting, inventory optimization, and supply planning.

“We’re now finishing our demand forecast a week early,” said Brodsky. "That didn’t just happen because of technology. It happened because we focused on people.”

Change Management: The Make-or-Break Factor

WestRock’s leadership understood that technology alone wouldn’t deliver results. The bigger challenge was bringing the organization along.

For example, demand planning historically sat with commercial teams. Integrating them into the new system required more than training. It required trust. Instead of pushing a tool, WestRock showed how the new system helped sales teams hit their targets. Lunch-and-learns, stakeholder walkthroughs, and value-first conversations created buy-in across functions.

They also made a bold move. Assign top talent to the transformation. Full-time.

Data is the Real Bottleneck

Technology is not a constraint. Data is. 

Despite early success, WestRock quickly learned that harmonizing and contextualizing data was its biggest challenge. And biggest opportunity. The company initially planned for five data resources. They needed ten.

But that investment paid off.

With accurate, business-ready data flowing into the planning platform, WestRock could begin executing scenario-based planning, improving inventory allocation, and enabling real-time visibility between production and fulfillment.

“We used to spend four weeks collecting inventory data,” said Brodsky. “Now we have a system that does it for us. It’s no longer a project. It’s a way of life.”

Lessons for the Enterprise

WestRock’s journey isn’t unique, but its approach offers a blueprint for supply chain leaders navigating similar complexity.

Here are four takeaways that apply across industries:

• Don’t wait for perfect. Start with the data and systems you have. Use a modular, flexible platform to build momentum.
• Extend your planning vision. Think beyond functional metrics. Align planning with enterprise goals and future business models.
• Invest in people, not just tools. Change management, upskilling, and leadership development are critical to success.
• Deliver value early. Focus on near-term wins that prove the system works. Then scale fast.

In Conclusion

According to o9’s annual research, over 45% of CEOs don’t believe their current business model will be viable in ten years. At the same time, 69% of COOs say they’re not realizing the full value of their digital investments.

The message is clear. The pace of change is accelerating. Supply chains can no longer afford to operate in the background. Planning must evolve. From a reactive function to a strategic engine for enterprise value creation.

The next generation is already here. The question is: will your supply chain be ready for it?

Take a Tour

See how the o9 Digital Brain unifies planning, forecasting, and execution through AI-driven intelligence.

Take platform tour