What are the key components of demand planning?
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ?
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.
1๏ธโฃ One part is ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐.
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.
2๏ธโฃ Another part is ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ.
This means
โ looking at past sales,
โ talking to customers and
โ 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.
3๏ธโฃ Finally, store owners make sure they can ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ.
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.