How to Get Buy-In to a Demand Planning Process: A Case Study

Convincing a sales person of the need to forecast can be an often-frustrating aff air, with many hurdles to overcome. However, the benefi ts of forecasting are too great to be ignored by even the most intransigent opponent to change. This article provides an example of how to achieve buy-in to the Demand Planning process from both internal and external customers, and how fully operational multiple views of demand process can be implemented. 20 Copyright © 2014 Journal of Business Forecasting | All Rights Reserved | Winter 2013-2014 If I couldn’t convince the Sales team of the need to forecast, could I maybe convince the leadership team? If I could get buy-in from the top, then surely it would filter down. In order to do this, I arranged for a meeting where the General Manager, the relevant directors, and Sales Channel Managers would all be in attendance. I highlighted the drive at our regional head office to reduce inventory, free up cash, and streamline production. I linked the concept of forecasting into the S&OP process and showed how a more accurate forecast was a key enabler in improving S&OP KPI metrics. I showcased the new IT tool that generates more detailed ...