As a business owner dealing with inventory, the most important concept to master is Supply and Demand. The ability to properly provide products seamlessly to a customer base builds trust in your brand. Reliability is critical for the buyer's journey, regardless of what stage a business is in its development or growth.

But what tools are available to organizations dealing with massive stock fluctuations, inventory delays, or erratic buyer habits?

Whether you’re a current NetSuite user or looking to expand your company’s best practices with cloud solutions, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tool is the best way of managing stock and balancing supply and demand.

Oracle NetSuite offers its own solution called NetSuite Demand Planning, an all-encompassing module that helps businesses plan their next move with industry-leading forecasting. Continue reading to learn more about NetSuite’s planning solution, whether it’s the right solution for your business, and top tips to maximize your planning and forecasting.

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What is Demand Planning?

Demand Planning is a supply chain management process that aids businesses in forecasting future demand for a good or service. It puts into practice an operational plan to successfully adjust the output in response, balancing adequate stock levels with consumer demands without generating a surplus.

With the aid of NetSuite Demand Planning, businesses can forecast their future inventory requirements using data on past demand, seasonality, available opportunities, sales projections, and other metrics.

Stock levels are optimized and supply chain planning is improved by determining the precise timing and quantity of reorders.

With the help of NetSuite Demand Planning, you can increase forecast accuracy and make sure you have the right inventory on hand to fulfill orders without having excess inventory sit idle on warehouse shelves and increase carrying costs.

How does Demand Planning Software Help My Business?

Demand planning, which helps businesses increase efficiency by better managing and allocating inventory space, is the cornerstone of effective supply chain management.

Planning software can assist businesses in reducing the risk of overstocking, including increased inventory carrying costs and financial circumstances that call for temporary discounts or other measures to prevent overstocking by promoting the sale of stock as quickly as possible.

By assisting businesses in striking a balance between adequate inventory levels and customer demand, effective demand planning boosts revenue and customer satisfaction.

A surplus of inventory restricts working capital, raises carrying costs, and raises the possibility of inventory obsolescence.

Planning errors can cause supply chain disruptions that cause backorders, stockouts, or expensive materials, which cause delays and dissatisfied customers.

If you’re looking to keep your customers happy, your teams stress-free, and your business running smoothly, planning software will be crucial for your company.

Tips for Better Demand Planning and Forecasting With NetSuite

Looking to get the most out of your Planning Software? Follow these simple tips to maximize your investment, and boost your business’ planning and forecasting.

Build a Team

The first step in the process is to create a statistical forecast of the required amount of inventory. A planning team is typically put together to accomplish this from the operational departments of finance, production, and procurement as well as the sales and marketing departments.

The IT department may be contacted to address technical issues with the software, such as forecasting algorithms, data reporting, and integration.

There may be a dedicated demand planning analyst to offer expertise in data management and statistics.

Collect the Right Data

The team begins by going over the information that is already available, including the sales forecast, previous sales data, market research, and surveys. This frequently entails gathering data from point-of-sale (POS) terminals and using analytics tools in planning software, like NetSuite Demand Planning, to analyze the results.

Some businesses maintain POS data in a type of data warehouse known as a demand signal repository, along with other demand signals like retail and wholesale inventory levels and information from loyalty programs.

By identifying, for instance, sales lost as a result of inventory stockouts—which point to a higher demand than sales alone—inventory data can help put sales data in the proper perspective. The accuracy of forecasts can be increased by using analytics to identify such relationships between sales and inventory.

Start Early

Planning is frequently carried out early in the sales and operations planning (S&OP) process, which aims to match supply and demand by coordinating sales planning, forecasting, and production planning in a unified manner.

Supply and demand are influenced by Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), which is a source of comprehensive product data. On the other hand, PLM incorporates demand. For instance, businesses can use planning software to forecast the demand for a proposed product by comparing it to comparable products and examining the potential impact of various features on demand.

Looking for NetSuite Demand Planning?

Are you looking to get started with NetSuite Demand Planning, but don’t know where to start? This article was definitely a good start, but for your next step we recommend speaking with a NetSuite partner.

With over 15 years of NetSuite experience, GURUS Solutions is the best partner for your needs. But don’t take our word for it, see what our other clients say about us.

Looking to speak to a specialist so you can get started planning and forecasting better? Fill out the form below to get underway.

Otherwise, continue reading on Demand Planning here.

Looking to Expand your Planning and Forecasting?

If you’re looking to get the most out of your NetSuite data to better expand your planning, budgeting, and forecasting capabilities, then you need GURUS Solutions’ Data Exporter:
Financial Planning and Analysis Edition.

Take advantage of this financial plus for your business and enjoy the benefits of:

Pre-built budgeting and planning templates customized to fit your business’ needs
Saved time and money from an accurate tool that doesn’t come at a premium price
Security for your information - a necessity for collecting data, and sharing across your teams

Contact a GURUS budgeting and planning specialist to get a free guided demo today.

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The Top Demand Planning Tips for the NetSuite User

What is Demand Planning?

How does Demand Planning Software Help My Business?