Accurate demand forecasts for right business decisions

Consumer demand is a volatile factor, especially in today’s growing uncertainty. The behavior of buyers is influenced by a lot of factors, sometimes non-obvious and unexpected ones: from the season and market trends to the activities of competitors and the political situation.

At the same time, sales efficiency directly depends on the accuracy of demand forecasting. Miscalculations in this matter can lead to a number of unpleasant consequences. Overestimation of demand can lead to additional costs for storing excess goods in warehouses and to product write-offs. Underestimation results in a shortage of goods on the shelves, problems with logistics and suppliers, loss of part of the profit, as well as decreases the level of service and customer loyalty.

In order to avoid these hassles in a highly volatile business environment, it is critical to have a tool for forecasting as accurately as possible. SMART Demand Forecast is exactly such a tool. It works on the basis of machine learning and artificial intelligence and is able to take into account and process factors that affect demand from sales history to external factors. Thus, it enables extremely accurate operational planning in uncertain conditions.

In this video, you can see how the tool works.

As you can see, it consists of three functional blocks:

1. Work with analogs

This block is designed to work with goods or stores that do not have enough history and data for further forecasting. In this case, the forecast is based on the history of analogs. The system automatically generates a list of analogs, or analogs can be configured manually.

2. Modelling

The functionality of the block is designed to start or restart the process of forecasting regular and promotional sales, exporting forecast results, as well as managing promotional campaigns. All the necessary parameters are pre-configured, including the forecast horizon and period, points of sale, products, data on promotions, promotional campaigns, etc.

3. Analytics

This block allows you to analyze the history of sales, the quality of promo sets related to forecasting and compensated sales.

The use of the tool allows companies to accurately anticipate fluctuations in demand and adjust product strategies in accordance with them. And thus always maintain optimal availability of goods, fully satisfying demand with minimal logistics and storage costs.

With this tool at hand, executives can make quick, informed decisions about sourcing, pricing, campaigns and promotions, maximizing sales and reducing operating costs. Find out more about how SMART Demand Forecast can help you improve your business efficiency – book a personalized presentation.