The Smart Forecaster
Pursuing best practices in demand planning, forecasting and inventory optimization
Worst Practices in Forecasting
Companies launch initiatives to upgrade or improve their sales & operations planning and demand planning processes all the time. Many of these initiatives fail to deliver the results they should. Has your forecasting function fallen short of expectations? Do you struggle with “best practices” that seem incapable of producing accurate results?
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Forecasting and the Rising Tide of Big Data
“Trillions of records of millions of people…Finding the useful and right information, understanding its quality and producing reliable analyzed data in a timely and cost-effective manner are all critical issues.”
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Handling Extreme Supply Chain Variability at Rev-A-Shelf
Does your extended supply chain suffer from extreme seasonal variability? Does this situation challenge your ability to meet service level commitments to your customers? I have grappled with this at Rev-A-Shelf, addressing unusual conditions created by Chinese New Year and other global events, and would like to share the experience and a few things I learned along the way.
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Truth in Forecasting—Practical Advice at Year’s End
At year’s end, we are often caught up in thinking and planning for the coming year. Did 2013 turn out the way you expected? Will 2014 be dramatically different? Are there other factors—things we are planning to do; things we think our competitors might do; outside forces like changing taste, demographics or economics—that might change the course of business in the coming year?
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When implementing inventory optimization, don’t swing for the fences when a single will do!When the pressure is on to cut inventory and improve performance, you might want to move fast much like a hitter who wants to hit a home run. And in some cases, swinging for the fences might be the recommended approach. More often than not, a progressive approach to inventory optimization is more effective
Want to Optimize Inventory? Follow These 4 StepsService Level Driven Planning (SLDP) is an approach to inventory planning based on exposing the tradeoffs between SKU availability and inventory cost that are at the root of all wise inventory decisions. When organizations understand these tradeoffs, they can make better decisions and have greater variability into the risk of stockouts. SLDP unfolds in four steps: Benchmark, Collaborate, Plan, and Track.
