Demand Planning Best Practices and Refresh Frequency

Keeping your demand plan current is key to accurate inventory forecasting and operational efficiency. This article outlines best practices for refreshing your forecast and key indicators that signal when updates are needed.

• High-velocity products / Fast-moving CPG:

  • Weekly reviews for sales vs. forecast

  • Monthly deep dives to recalibrate forecasts

• Seasonal products:

  • Monthly reviews

  • Quarterly planning for upcoming seasons

• Stable or evergreen SKUs:

  • Monthly to quarterly reviews depending on sales consistency

• New product launches:

  • Weekly reviews during the first 8–12 weeks

  • Shift to a standard cadence afterward

Update your forecast outside the regular cadence if:

• Sales deviate more than ±15% from forecast

• A new marketing campaign or promotion is launching

• A major channel expansion (new retail or DTC rollout) is starting

• Unexpected supply issues or delays occur

• Your sales team receives updated retailer forecasts

1. Navigate to the Demand Plan tab

2. Select Retail or Direct-to-Consumer

3. Choose the product and date range

4. Edit the forecast using:

   • Updated velocity, facings, or store count (Retail)

   • Fixed units or percentage adjustments (DTC)

5. Save changes to automatically update the Supply Plan

• Align with cross-functional teams (Sales, Marketing, Operations)

• Document forecast assumptions for future reviews

• Track forecast accuracy over time and identify patterns

• Use Planster’s visual tools to detect trends and seasonality

• Set recurring review dates aligned with:

  • Marketing calendar

  • Supplier lead times

  • Key retail resets

Share the calendar internally so all stakeholders stay in sync.

Planster Support is here to assist with demand planning strategy and tools to help keep your forecasts as accurate as possible.