Demand Planning Software – Supply Chain Management Lessons

By Author: Karishma Shikalgar
Total Articles: 12
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Supply chains worldwide were recently put under the most crucial stress test during the pandemic. Business leaders and decision-makers reacted by mobilizing responses, building resilience, and concentrating on core values simultaneously. Now that almost three years have passed, it's time to recollect what we have learned and how to apply these lessons to fuel growth in the future supply chain.

Demand planning in supply chains is all about providing an accurate forecast of future demand to meet customer expectations as closely as possible. Underestimating forecast comes at the apparent cost of decreased sales revenue and missed sales opportunities, but overestimating can be just as expensive because excessive inventory takes up space and cash.

According to a survey, the businesses well equipped to respond to the major market shifts fuelled by the pandemic had sound relationships with their vendors, suppliers, and tools such as demand planning software to provide complete visibility into their more comprehensive supply chain networks. Those lacking both capacities for accurate projections and supply chain visibility ...
... were left scrambling to implement systems that should have been there a long time ago.

To make sure that your business is set to face the next disruption, whether it's a natural calamity, labour-related crisis, or constantly shifting customer expectations, you need to connect your organizations with demand planning tools with these following tips:

Visibility is Critical in More Ways Than We Think

It is almost impossible for business leaders to evaluate issues if they do not have access to end-to-end visibility of every nod in their supply chain. In supply chain, we always talk about exploring our "what if" scenarios, but what if you have access to vast data and don’t know how to plan your future forecasting and inventory planning? The pandemic showed us we cannot always plan ahead for unexpected future events. Still, with efficient demand planning software, we can utilize our own data to be more prepared for the constantly changing future.

When we plan for tomorrow, prompt actions can be taken to avoid situations like overstocking or understocking. For instance, conventional planning methods suggest that no action needs to be taken. Still, AI in demand forecasting may indicate that orders are likely to increase, and countermeasures are required.

Make Changes Before You Have to

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, major discrepancies in the supply chain require a proportionally rapid and innovative response. The businesses that fail to cope with the paradigm shift and do not respond promptly will suffer from the constantly evolving market. The leading way to set yourself up for future disruptions is to connect your business with intelligent demand forecasting software to improve efficiency and supply chain resilience. If you think your existing systems are adequate enough to deal with future disruptions, think again!

One of the best possible opportunities for change is doing it while you are on the move. Many businesses change their production line or operation locations to another place just to give it a fresh approach. And many organizations have witnessed that each time they made these changes on the move, they did experience some increase in productivity.

Use the Upgraded Tools and Technologies

If you are still dependent on traditional processes and tools for your forecasting demand, you are missing out on some sizable improvements. These days manufacturers are under constant pressure to decrease costs, enhance supply chain efficiency, and improve revenue margins. With the inefficiency of clear visibility into their supply chain due to manual operational approaches and poor demand planning tools, they lack the much-needed deep, actionable insights. This keeps them from developing synchronized, efficient, and responsive supply chain strategies to achieve the desired operational excellence.

What’s the solution to this problem? An agile demand planning tool that uses demand-driven analysis and real-time inventory movements to predict demand and offer a comprehensive view of each component of your supply chain more rapidly. AI in demand forecasting effectively serves as a linchpin of these tools because the technology can improve accuracy while delivering efficiency to scale that no human can match. With the help of forecasting demand tools, you can double up productivity, output, and quality while reducing costs, disruptions, and delays. Incorporating demand forecasting software can take improvements even further and enhance your decision-making capabilities.

With Avercast's Demand Planning Software fused into your business, you can access end-to-end visibility into your demand forecasting needs. Our unparalleled market expertise empowers our customers and turns them into raving fans. With our easy-to-use tools and solutions, when the next market disruption occurs, you will be enjoying a competitive edge instead of participating in a desperate race to keep your operations afloat. To know more about our strategic solutions, contact our experts or book a free demo.