Demand & Sales Forecasting
Forecast demand more precisely than experience alone allows.
Demand and sales forecasting uses historical sales data, seasonal patterns and external factors to predict future demand. This improves planning, purchasing and production alike, significantly cutting stockouts and overproduction.
- Fewer stockouts and lost sales
- Lower capital tied up through less excess stock
- Better alignment between sales and production
forecast error
stockouts
payback period
overproduction
Calculated from current forecast accuracy and the costs of over- and under-production.
- 01
Clarify forecasting needs
Align granularity and time horizon with sales and planning.
- 02
Data integration
Consolidate sales history, promotions and market data.
- 03
Model development
Train forecasting models per product group and region.
- 04
Validation against actuals
Continuously check model accuracy against actual sales.
- 05
Integration into planning
Feed forecasts automatically into purchasing and production.
Steps
Data sources
Stakeholders
From first data access to production – every step delivers a tangible interim result.
ERP sales data
Historical sales figures per item and customer.
Order backlog
Open orders as an early indicator.
Promotion and pricing data
Impact of discounts and campaigns.
Market data
Industry indicators and macroeconomic data.
Weather data
Relevant for seasonal products.
Inventory data
Current stock levels as a starting point.
Sales
Gets reliable sales forecasts for customer conversations.
Production planning
Can plan capacity proactively.
Procurement
Orders raw materials more precisely to demand.
Controlling
Produces more accurate revenue and cost forecasts.
Fewer stockouts and lost sales
Lower capital tied up through less excess stock
Better alignment between sales and production
Early detection of demand shifts
More reliable basis for budget planning
With a solid data foundation this use case gets faster, cheaper and far more stable.
Automated consolidation of all sales data sources
Regular, automated forecast recalculation
Traceable variance analysis between plan and actuals
Easy extension to new products and markets
Production scheduling
Forecasts feed directly into capacity planning.
Inventory optimization
Better forecasts reduce safety stock needs.
Business intelligence
Forecasts become directly visible in management dashboards.