A leading steel manufacturer rolled out Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud to centralize forecasting across regions, SKUs, and timeframes. But reps quickly hit friction. The built-in Forecasting tab, reports, and dashboards couldn’t support the kind of bulk editing, multi-timeframe views, or speed they needed to forecast at scale.

So reps defaulted to Excel—because it let them update hundreds of rows, apply formulas, and filter data instantly, all in one screen.

That also meant disconnected workflows, version conflicts, and data delays. They didn’t need a different platform—they needed to make Salesforce work like Excel, without the risks.

That’s exactly what Valorx delivered.

The Challenge: Sales Forecasting in Steel Manufacturing with Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud

One of the largest U.S. steel fabricators—serving multi-region construction projects with high-volume, made-to-spec metal products—faced a growing forecasting challenge. With fluctuating demand, raw material volatility, and tight delivery timelines, the stakes of inaccurate sales forecasting were high. Production misalignment could mean idle capacity or missed revenue. Yet, the complexity of forecasting across SKUs, geographies, and timeframes had outgrown the tools built into Salesforce.

They had rolled out Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud to centralize their forecasting, but it wasn’t delivering where it mattered most: ease of use for frontline teams. They needed to forecast demand for fabricated steel products across regional construction projects, where material timing and volume accuracy directly impacted revenue.

Because Salesforce’s native forecasting tools weren’t designed for high-volume, multidimensional sales inputs, everyday tasks felt slow and fragmented. Sales teams defaulted to Excel because it allowed faster edits, easier toggling across time periods, and more control—all without navigating complex interfaces.

• Users were bogged down by rigid workflows and excessive clicks
• Switching time periods or updating volumes required tab-hopping
• Sales reps defaulted back to Excel for flexibility

Forecasting cycles slowed. Adoption plummeted. And the promise of real-time, data-driven forecasting inside Salesforce was falling short.

The Solution: Excel-like Forecasting in Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud with Valorx Wave + Matrix

To fix the usability gap without ripping out their Salesforce implementation, the manufacturer deployed Valorx Wave Embedded—a spreadsheet-style interface built directly into Salesforce—and activated the Matrix feature, which adds high-volume, multi-dimensional forecasting views.

Together, they made forecasting inside Salesforce as fast and flexible as Excel—but fully governed, validated, and synced in real time.

While other Salesforce-native tools offered incremental workflow improvements, none matched the speed, flexibility, and depth of Valorx Wave Embedded. Unlike rigid forecasting dashboards or basic editable grids, Valorx delivered a true spreadsheet-grade interface built into Salesforce—designed for high-volume users—without compromising Salesforce’s native controls. For teams managing thousands of SKUs and rapid timeline shifts, that difference was transformational.

What they implemented:

➡️ Wave Embedded: Allowed teams to manage and update Salesforce data in a familiar, spreadsheet-native interface—without leaving the platform.

The demo flow shows the Valorx Wave Embedded, where users interact with Salesforce data in a fast, Excel-like environment. Sales reps can update forecasts, apply filters, and edit records inline—without leaving Salesforce. For the steel manufacturer, this replaced slow, manual Excel workflows with a real-time, governed system. Forecasts became faster to update, easier to manage, and instantly visible to leadership—streamlining planning across teams and regions.

➡️ Matrix Views: Let users toggle between weeks, months, and quarters on one screen and update layered forecasts with ease.

As part of the rollout, sales and operations leaders gained access to the Matrix interface—an intuitive, drag-and-drop environment that lets users define how forecasting data should be structured. The Matrix view builder allows teams to select any Salesforce object—such as Accounts, Regions, SKUs, or Products—as rows and columns, while tying in relevant data objects like revenue projections or unit volumes.

Instead of jumping between reports or exporting to Excel, users now generate interactive forecasting tables with a few clicks. Whether they need to forecast by week, by product, or by account hierarchy, the Matrix interface gives them full control. Views are saved and shared, making it easy to maintain consistency across sales teams while enabling local flexibility. For teams managing hundreds of SKUs across fluctuating timelines, this feature transformed Salesforce from a static data system into a living, collaborative forecasting tool.

Watch Matrix in action…

The Outcome: Transformed Sales Forecasting in Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud

Implementing Valorx Wave Embedded with Matrix didn’t just improve usability—it transformed forecasting into a fast, flexible, and fully integrated process inside Salesforce. What used to take hours across spreadsheets, tabs, and email threads now happens in real time, across teams, regions, and time zones—with full visibility for leadership.

This transformation didn’t just improve accuracy—it realigned production timelines, reduced inventory mismatch, and accelerated S&OP cycles.

1. Forecasting Happens Directly in Salesforce

Sales reps now update forecasts directly inside Salesforce—no exports, no uploads, no version conflicts. The Wave grid interface lets them edit in bulk, apply formulas, and toggle timeframes in one screen, while every change syncs live with Manufacturing Cloud. Forecasts are no longer delayed or disconnected—they're part of daily execution.

Watch reps perform live, spreadsheet-style editing inside Salesforce—updating hundreds of rows, using drag-fill and copy/paste, and seeing every change synced instantly.

2. Teams Plan by SKU, Region, and Timeframe—All in One View

With Matrix, the company restructured forecasting around how they actually sell—by SKU, by account, by region, by week. Reps can now plan across time horizons without switching tabs, and managers drill down into customer-level views in seconds. Matrix replaced dozens of reports and Excel files with one unified forecasting canvas.

Impact: Weekly forecasting prep time dropped significantly—especially for regional managers who previously toggled between dashboards and spreadsheets.

See how reps drag rows and columns in Matrix, switch between timeframes, and instantly generate a single-screen view across SKUs, regions, and accounts—all without leaving Salesforce.

3. Spreadsheet Speed with Full Salesforce Governance

Wave delivers the best parts of Excel—drag-fill, copy/paste, mass update—but inside a governed, secure Salesforce environment. Every action runs through native validation rules and permissions. What used to be risky, manual, and invisible is now tracked, auditable, and consistent.

Result: Forecast accuracy improved, version errors disappeared, and leadership regained confidence in the numbers.

Watch reps update forecasts across SKUs and timeframes—dragging, editing, and syncing live—all in Salesforce with built-in validation and audit trail.

4. Rolled Out in Weeks, Adopted Globally

The rollout took weeks, not months. Because the interface felt familiar from day one, adoption was instant—from frontline reps to regional managers in North America, Europe, and Asia. Forecasting became part of the Salesforce rhythm—not a workaround.

Why it mattered: Leaders no longer chase updates. They get real-time data to feed S&OP cycles and drive decisions—without chasing spreadsheets.

What Changed: Fast, Flexible Forecasting with Full Salesforce Control

This U.S. steel manufacturer didn’t just improve usability—they unlocked the full power of Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud by making it usable, intuitive, and fast.

Cut forecasting prep time, eliminate Excel exports, and unlock real-time demand planning in Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud with Valorx Wave. Experience the speed of spreadsheets with the control of Salesforce—all in one view.