Five months ago, feels like five years, back in late 2019, I wrote, "CPG companies' online channel is rapidly growing … with sales expected to double in five years." My, how things have changed. In less than one month, there were 35% more e-commerce CPG buyers, Amazon could no longer meet its 2-day prime shipping promise, and I am still waiting for the desk that I ordered two months ago.
Video: Consumption Sensing – Next Generation Forecasting
on May 5, 2020
| By Antuit Insights
|
Demand Forecasting,
Demand Analytics,
Video,
Consumer Products,
Artificial Intelligence
The panic buying and consumer demand shifts ravaged demand forecasts, leaving most CPG companies reverting to manual intervention to fix their stock issues. While unavoidable in the beginning, this event highlights the shortcomings of many forecasting methodologies: a basic assumption that demand is steady and slowly changes. Consumption sensing takes a new approach by creating a "conversation with the consumer" to predict consumer demand and identify shifts for near, mid, and long term forecasting and planning.
Retail and CPG companies are now working overtime to maintain inventory supply and minimize shortages despite wildly erratic consumer behavior. Thanks to advances in planning and order optimization, real-time adjustments to major swings in demand, like nationwide school closings and shifts to online buying, are more easily executed. Nevertheless, this has meant long hours for everyone - from the manufacturer, to the planner, to store distribution teams - and every time a basic staple reappears on the shelf or online, we consumers appreciate it.
There is an increasing belief that machines can replace human activities. With supply chain becoming more complex, humans would need to make hundreds of thousands of decisions to stay competitive. Does this mean companies need AI and No Touch Demand Planning?
Avoid Costly Errors with a Unified Forecast
on February 13, 2020
| By Nicholas Wegman
|
Demand Forecasting
Every day, retailers are making countless decisions that drive both the top and bottom line.
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