Master the demand forecasting skills you need to decide what resources to acquire, what products to produce, and where and how to distribute them.
In Demand Forecasting Best Practices you'll learn how to:
• Lead a demand planning team to improve forecasting quality while reducing workload
• Properly define the objectives, granularity, and horizon of your demand planning process
• Use smart, value-weighted KPIs to track accuracy and bias
• Spot areas of your process where there is room for improvement
• Help planners and stakeholders (sales, marketing, finances) add value in your process
• Identify what kind of data you should be collecting, and how
• Utilize different types of statistical and machine learning models
Demand Forecasting Best Practices teaches you to optimize demand planning to deliver a more effective supply chain. In this unique step-by-step guide, you'll learn forecasting tools, metrics, and models alongside stakeholder management techniques that work in a live business environment. Follow author Nicolas Vandeput's original five step framework for demand planning excellence and learn how to tailor it to your own company's needs. You'll soon be delivering accurate predictions that are driving major business value.
About the Technology
Demand forecasting is vital for the success of any product supply chain. It allows companies to make better decisions about what resources to acquire, what products to produce, and where and how to distribute them. As an effective demand forecaster, you can help your organization avoid overproduction, reduce waste, and optimize inventory levels for a real competitive advantage.
About the Book
Demand Forecasting Best Practices is a handbook of techniques for effective demand planning for products of all types. You'll learn how to optimize your data, metrics, processes, models, and even people to make better decisions and deliver value to your supply chains. Discover pro tips from author Nicolas Vandeput's global career in supply chain consultancy, and dodge the common mistakes you might not know you're making. Illustrations, clear explanations, and relevant real-world examples make each concept easy to understand and easy to follow.
About the Reader
For anyone who wants to improve their demand planning process, including demand planners, S&OP managers, supply chain leaders, and data scientists.
Table of Contents:
Part 1-Forecasting demand
1 Demand forecasting excellence
2 Introduction to demand forecasting
3 Capturing unconstrained demand (and not sales)
4 Collaboration: data sharing and planning alignment
5 Forecasting hierarchies
6 How long should the forecasting horizon be?
7 Should we reconcile forecasts to align supply chains?
Part 2-Measuring forecasting quality
8 Forecasting metrics
9 Choosing the best forecasting KPI
10 What is a good forecast error?
11 Measuring forecasting accuracy on a product portfolio
Part 3-Data-driven forecasting process
12 Forecast value added
13 What do you review? ABC XYZ segmentations and other methods
Part 4-Forecasting methods
14 Statistical forecasting
15 Machine learning
16 Judgmental forecasting
17 Now it's your turn!
