SUPPLY CHAIN
“ Volatility within the supply chain is the new norm , which makes demand planners more crucial than ever ”
JEFFERSON BARR , CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ,
NETSTOCK
How does customer-understanding help demand planning ? The purpose of demand planning is to generate a future plan that the organisation thinks reflects consumption by their customers , so knowing your customer is an enormous benefit . The use of statistical forecasting methods should be adopted in order to use the historical customer consumption data .
This enables organisations to derive patterns and trends and provide future projections of what could be consumed . Demand planning is after all a process of planand-review , and the more customer insight you have to add to the mix , the more accurate your forecasts will become . We have also found that ‘ what-if ’ demand planning provides huge benefits to our customers , especially in light of all the recent supply chain disruptions .
What-if scenarios allow them to see the net effect of various actions . For example , what if they adjust lead times from 90 to 180 days for a particular channel ? This would allow them to see how much more inventory they would need to order , and what the financial impact of these changes would be .
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