Using Demand Sensing and Shaping to Improve Demand Forecasting

Demand sensing and demand shaping are excellent tools for growing demand generation, but not being used to their fullest. To do so, demand sensing should use not only shipment data but also POS and syndicated data, order information, and unstructured data such as weather patterns and chatter on social Web. Further, demand shaping should be used to infl uence demand and not for shifting demand from one period to the next. Most demand forecasting and planning systems are not adequate to sense demand signals because of their inability to process demand data at a most granular level. Likewise, they do not have the advanced statistical methodology to translate data into actionable information. They don’t do well in capturing market trends and seasonality. The author further adds that, in order to make the most from demand sensing and demand shaping, we need to have domain knowledge and close collaboration across all functions. cHARLes W. cHAse, JR. | Mr. Chase is the Chief Industry Consultant and CPG Subject Matter Expert for the Manufacturing and Supply Chain Global Practices at SAS Institute, Inc. He is also the principal solutions architect and thought leader for delivering demand ...