Making Demand Forecastable

The purpose of demand planning is to improve forecast accuracy and increase supply chain effectiveness. Using current and past forecast performance, demand planners can provide guidance on what adjustments are needed to improve future forecast accuracy. The next step in developing an effective demand planning process is to make the future forecast more forecastable, that is, to take actions that make it more likely that the forecast will be accurate. While there will always be factors outside our control that will influence forecast reliability, there are actions we can take to increase the odds that our forecasts will be accurate. In taking these actions, we move from merely planning demand to managing demand.