The first – and most critical – step in supply chain planning is to generate an accurate demand prediction. After all, if you start with the wrong demand forecast, all of your subsequent planning will be no more than a useless academic exercise.
Our Kaplan BG consultants have been working with world class companies to achieve unprecedented levels of accuracy in demand forecasting. Some of the insights we are able to offer to demand forecasting are: - Forecast accuracy can only be achieved at the product group level, not at the individual SKU level
- Manufacturing processes should be synchronized with the forecasting product grouping
- When grouping products, process commonalities need to be considered. This means looking at issues such as common processes of product groups to produce forecasts, and producing them to order after differentiation
- Forecast accuracy increases significantly after seeing the initial actual demand levels. The supply chain should be built so that forecasts can be adjusted after the initial demand has been observed.
- External factors can also have an impact on demand. This includes the economy and consumer confidence levels. This means that a good forecasting system should adjust the time series forecast according to significant external factors.
This range of insights means that Kaplan is able to offer a range of services relating to demand forecasting: - We can audit your current supply chain planning system and use the results to provide you with a road map to the solution to your problems
- We can develop a bespoke forecasting algorithm that will work well with your business
- We can custom-build your forecasting solution
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