Demand Planning Overview
In PLAIO, demand planning represents a calculated demand signal over time that serves as the foundation for all downstream planning. This signal is calculated per product and time period, traceable across planning stages, and directly linked to supply outcomes. Planners can view these values in Demand Planner views and SKU-level or aggregated demand tables.
PLAIO calculates demand using forecasts, firm orders, manual demand adjustments, and derived demand from BOM requirements. All inputs are aligned to a common time granularity to ensure consistent calculations.
Baseline Forecasts and Performance
PLAIO generates multiple forecasts, including your market forecast, benchmark forecast, and AI forecasting models that analyze historical demand patterns. These forecasts represent the system's calculated expectation of future demand before any manual adjustments are applied. Planners can inspect forecast types over time in forecast views, period-by-period details, and visualization charts.
PLAIO evaluates forecasts across multiple horizons, such as 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month outlooks, allowing forecast performance to be assessed in a way that reflects real planning lead times.
Evaluating forecast performance solely on absolute metrics like Error and Bias can be misleading without proper context. A forecast with a 30% Error might be considered poor in some contexts but excellent in others. This is where benchmark forecasts become essential. A benchmark forecast is a simple, easily implementable forecasting method that serves as a reference point. PLAIO utilizes a simple moving average as the benchmark.
Performance evaluation is calculated per horizon (e.g., 1-month, 3-month, 6-month accuracy), can be analyzed per SKU, and separates accuracy from systematic bias. These metrics appear in Demand Planner views with Error and Bias visualizations and forecasts vs. actual sales.
Demand Adjustments and Propagation
PLAIO allows planners to apply demand adjustments that sit on top of the baseline forecast. When demand is adjusted, the baseline forecast remains visible, the adjusted value becomes the active planning input, and downstream plans update immediately. This ensures transparency between calculated demand and planner input through editable demand columns, comparison views, and scenario-based demand views.
Planners can trace demand from finished products down to components. Any change to demand is immediately reflected in inventory projections and supply order calculations.