Sales forecasts reflect expectations, and purchasing plans represent arrangements prepared for execution. Automatically converting forecasts into orders allows unconfirmed changes to flow directly into the supply chain. The system should allow comparison of forecast versions and let planners know which requirements have been confirmed.

How to arrange records and operations

Forecasting saves sources, cycles and assumptions, and plans to record inventory, in-transit and confirmed orders, etc. When adjusting the forecast, the impact on material demand is shown, and approved purchases are not covered. Scenario plans can be retained for uncertain needs, and actual implementation still requires clear approval and order confirmation.

The unit, time granularity and product version of the forecast demand must be clearly defined together. What suppliers see cannot just be a total number. Forecasts and formal orders are marked separately, and new additions, decreases, and time shifts are displayed when the forecast is revised. For materials that have been prepared, both parties will confirm the disposal opinions. The system will not automatically determine that a reduction in the forecast is equivalent to canceling the commitment. A negotiated version will be formed after the supplier provides feedback on capabilities and constraints. When viewing historical forecasts, you can still find the values ​​and receipt confirmations released at that time, instead of only retaining the latest column.

Specific scenarios that need to be checked

For example, after the promotion expectations are adjusted, the out-of-stock and overstock risks of different plans should be compared. Test historical forecast query, manual adjustment and demand cancellation, and check that formal orders will not be modified silently. Use a consistent time frame when evaluating forecast results and avoid backfilling past forecasts with known actual data.