A History of CPFR

Fourteen years ago Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) was introduced as a concept for which a manufacturer and retailer could jointly do replenishment planning of the retailer’s inventories. Its history has largely followed the Gartner “Hype Cycle.” It started out with a lot of hype during the Internet/Dot.com Bubble, and then fell into a “trough of disillusionment” when the Bubble burst. Today its use is relatively pervasive, however, not in the same way it was “standardized” during the early days. It’s about a bigger concept—supply chain collaboration. LARRY LAPIDE | Dr. Lapide is a Research Affiliate at MIT and a Lecturer at the University of Massachusetts, Boston Campus. He has extensive experience in industry, consulting, business research, and academia as well as a broad range of forecasting experiences. He was an industry forecaster for many years, has led forecasting-related consulting projects for clients across a variety of industries, and has researched as well as taught forecasting. He was also a market analyst researching forecasting and supply chain software. (This is an ongoing column in The Journal, which is intended ...