Demand Planning in India—Emerging Trends & Challenges

This article discusses not only the challenges Indian businesses face in demand planning, but also ways to deal with them. Geographical diversity in terms of customs and traditions has a great impact on demand, which has to be properly managed. MV HANUMAT SASTRY | Mr. Sastry is Supply Chain Professional at SC Johnson, India. He has wide experience in the areas of demand planning, supply planning, strategic sourcing, and new products development both in Pharmaceutical and FMCG industries. His main interest is in transforming supply chains into global benchmarking standards. He has a post-graduate degree from National Institute of Industrial Engineering, India. D D emand planning—forecasting and managing demand— plays a vital role in managing a business in India. In recent years, almost all the major companies in various regions have shown healthy growth rates upward of 10% (See Table 1). But India, being a highly diversified nation with 28 states and varying purchasing behaviors, has its own challenges in managing demand. This article discusses unique challenges that Indian companies face when managing demand and the best way to deal with them. In recent years, consumer demand ...