How to survive in the consumer era… with demand management

In recent years, the volatility of disruptions and events has altered the supply chains themselves and the basic principles on which they were built. If we talk about customers, they now demand real-time interactions, i.e., fast reactions guided by consumers.

For example, in 2020, the food industry streamlined SKUs, rerouted inventory, bypassed distribution centers, and delivered directly to stores or elsewhere to meet demand[1].

Added to this, their loyalties took a back seat. During multiple quarantines, people switched products more frequently when shortages occurred or priorities were re-evaluated: research showed that recent consumer trends indicate that between 30 and 40 percent have tried new brands[2].

Add to this the fact that purchasing options have also expanded with more home deliveries, direct sales to customers from manufacturers, and trends such as a personalized shopping experience, through the channel that suits them best.

It's easy to understand that it will be impossible to survive without tools that enable teams to collaborate in real-time and respond efficiently

“Companies that actively invest in digital operations and strive to be digital champions expect revenue growth of 25% by 2023 and efficiency gains of 21%. This compares with 9% and 7% for companies that invest sparingly”: PwC.[1]

Adapting to new changes requires greater data intelligence in supply chains to optimize inventory, ensuring that the most profitable products are protected during any contingency.

In the face of this challenge, new demand management strategies emerge that involve dynamic and agile supply chain management to capture value, even during volatile times, and respond quickly to challenges. This is why it is vital for the companies to integrate and automate the demand management process; any phase of the process has to be considered and work smoothly, i.e. evaluate vendor performance based on time and completion, returns, cost, and quality; monitor in a system all inventory movements in real-time, including -but not limited - to stock transfers, warehouse transfers, production issues, production reporting, shipments, receipts, scrap, etc.

Having customer orders reach you via automation allows your customer service team to respond immediately to sudden increases in transactional volume and data accuracy, ready to be consumed by the demand planning team. Your organization will significantly benefit on the implementation of solutions that helps you reach this level.

The new models will be driven by data, advanced technology, artificial intelligence, and analytics to deliver solutions that maintain and drive value throughout the supply chain.

This includes demand and supply planning software, rough capacity planning, distribution planning, and inventory optimization to build strategic and tactical planning as disruptions occur.

With accurate insights and in-depth analysis, trends can be identified to enable proactive solutions through real-time information analysis, historical comparisons, what-if scenarios, and complete visibility across the supply chain.

Let's talk about developing advanced supply chain capabilities and how we can provide your business with the agility to respond to disruptions.

[1] PwC. (2020). Connected and autonomous supply chain ecosystems 2025.

[1] Food Logistics. (2020). Improving Demand Forecast Accuracy During and After COVID-19.

[2] McKinsey & Company. (2020). Rapidly forecasting demand and adapting commercial plans in a pandemic.