Demand planners can be compared to weather forecasters because they rarely get congratulated when they do their job correctly. However, when err, they’re easily noticed. That’s because demand planning must be done correctly, and any mistake could cause severe problems in the supply chain. This article highlights some vital demand planning strategies that can help you avoid mistakes.
- Treat The Process Right
Demand planning is a process within integrated business and sales planning and is not an independent activity. To be successful in it, you must create a business plan that highlights the company’s activities to drive the business forward and meet customer demands. When customer demands are met, profit levels will increase.
- Decide The Level You Want To Plan Demand
Companies can analyze and plan demands at various levels, including the customer level, product family level, and geographical level. The level you choose in planning demand depends on your business. Let not limitations of IT technologies dictate how you plan demand. Instead, use your goals to determine the best level to use in satisfying customer demands.
- Collaborate With Others
Don’t plan demand alone because this process isn’t a test of statistical algorithms. The statistics should help you lay a solid foundation for work, but the real value is from the systems’ knowledge. Initiate internal and external collaboration in identifying the true demand signals. If you do this, you’ll get a better forecast.
- Don’t Just forecast
Forecasting alone may not give you the results you need, though it’s ademand planning component that helps you estimate future demands easily. Excelling companies integrate business planning and forecasting and seek avenues to influence demand through marketing techniques such as promotions and events. From the data they get from such circumstances, they get statistics of how they can forecast in line with their plans.
- Measure Before You Control
Before controlling and acting upon consumer demands, you need to measure the market statistical data you’ve acquired. Additionally, you need to put the correct set of key performance indicators in place and measure demand against them.
- Educate
Good educational programs help individuals to understand their contributions and effect on the implementation of the demand plan. The demand planning procedure is multifaceted, and people shouldn’t contribute to the forecast without understanding the essence of their contributions.
- Arrange Data
Organized and cleansed data can help you cut down on time spent on questioning and losing confidence in the demand process. It’ll also prevent others from second-guessing the plan and creating their version. Since demand planning has robust processes and huge data quantities, it’s vital to keep the data cleansed.
- Use Forecast Error Positively
Good statistical forecasts have errors that generate appropriate safety stock targets. If you use them in your demand planning, you’ll have good inventory management and deliver effective services using low total inventory.
Conclusion
Demand planning involves the analysis of a lot of data and needs to be careful. Any mistake or error within the process could cause supply chain glitches and affect a company’s ability to satisfy consumer needs. These strategies can help you to craft your demand plan carefully.
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