Friday, July 26, 2019

Product Success With Customer Demand Planning

By Angela Moore


There are often several steps companies must go through before releasing new products to the marketplace. One of the first, and most important, is to determine the amount of interest through customer demand planning or CDP. For, by knowing the amount of interest, companies can often save money by introducing the number of products which have been forecast.

CDP is also an integral and important aspect of the marketing process when it comes to managing different value chains. For, the first step in the process is to forecast the demand for a product. After which, it can be easier for managers to plan the deployment of resources based on such data.

The approach with CDP is much different than the typical top down approach. For, while there are some risks such as accuracy with numbers and low forecast models, the overall risk with regards to economic loss is much lower. In either case, it is important to review the numbers on an ongoing basis prior to delivery in order to keep up with product supply and demand. Otherwise, there can often be delivery delays or product shortages during the initial release period.

While there are software applications and programs which can assist with CDP, some are better than others. As such, it is important that managers read reviews and select the one which is the best as related to product type. Whereas, there are also retail models in which manufacturers and retailers work in partnership to eliminate the middle man approach. In doing so, both tend to cut costs over time.

While there can often be numerous complexities and challenges when it comes to CDP, risks are minimal. While this is the case, the technology used in demand management programs for the merchant is often different than those which face distributors and manufacturers. One major difference, the demographics used to determine which products will be successful in different and diverse areas of the world.

This type of system is aimed more at matching customer logic and includes advanced practices in technology, transportation optimization, sourcing, channel management, pricing optimization, demand creation inventory and customer experience. For, unless a company can plan the results in all such areas, it can often be difficult to know whether or not a product has the potential to be successful on the open market.

Like in other areas of business, predictive analytics and forecasts are essential. For, CDP changes the way businesses and companies operate and perform prior to becoming competitive in the industry. In using these solutions, a number of companies are now using newer methods of increasing efficiency and cutting costs which are actually working better than those of the past.

One reason CPD can often assist companies is that productivity on any level is never an accident. To be successful, a company needs to forecast and plan ahead to assure that the inventory released to the public will meet the demand. As such, by planning ahead, some companies are now finding more success where many had failed in the past.




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