Navigating Demand Planning: Crafting a Blueprint for Business Success

What are the key components of demand planning?

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨?

Demand planning is like making a shopping list for a store.
Store owners want to make sure they have enough of the things that people want to buy. So they plan ahead by looking at different parts of the process.

1️⃣ One part is 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.
This means deciding how much they should order, when they should order it and how much they should keep in stock.
For example, a store might order more toys before Christmas so they have enough for the holiday shopping season.

2️⃣ Another part is 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱.
This means
– looking at past sales,
– talking to customers and
– studying the market
to predict what people will want to buy in the future.
For example, a store might notice that people buy more sweaters in the fall. So they forecast that they will need more sweaters in stock for the fall.

3️⃣ Finally, store owners make sure they can 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.
This means managing the flow of goods and services from the supplier to the store.
For example, a store might make sure they have a good relationship with their toy supplier so they can get the toys they need for Christmas in time.