The practice of demand planning consistently leverages one central theme: Plan, Manage, and Execute your supply and logistics resources to serve final customer demand. However, the underlying structure for each industry is different. These structures determine the demand to be modeled and planned.
Depending on what industry vertical you are trying to serve, your definition of demand forecasting will be different as well. If you are a retailer, you are trying to forecast your shelf demand at the store level. Your ultimate service measure is the in-Store Stock levels.
Demand Planning Process models for different industries are covered below:
- Consumer Packaged Goods and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (CPG &FMCG)-
The demand Planning process is well-developed in the CPG sector. The demand that drives the CPG supply chain is the demand from retail. Although planners also look at ultimate consumer demand, the rubber meets the road when an order is placed by a retailer for the fulfillment of their stores and warehouses. More… - Food and Beverage-
The food and Beverage sector serves a unique model where most of the shipments are routed through the distributor model. The distributors serve retail establishments like bars and restaurants that serve the ultimate customers. More… - Retail –
Big Box retailers were the driving force behind many planning initiatives including CPFR and demand forecasting. Retailers are driven by their objective to minimize or eliminate shelf out of stock. So it is important for them to plan and gear up for demand at the store level. More… - Pharmaceuticals –
Pharmaceutical supply chains are driven by pharmacy and provider demand which is driven by the patients. Although they market directly to the patients and sell to the providers to write the prescriptions, the demand is generated by the intermediary like a distributor, wholesaler, or retail pharmacy. More… - High-Tech –
Depending on where you are in the supply chain, you could either be dealing with electronics retailers or OEMs who supply to retailers or large customers like corporations and agencies. More… - Other –
There are a variety of other industries that are using demand forecasting to serve final customer demand. A sample of this includes:
- Retail Restaurants – Prepare and serve direct to consumers at retails.
- Banks selling Gift Cards – Manufacture and package gift cards directly to the major retailers.
- ATMs – Predict customer demand for cash so they can optimize their cash management services.