Inventory Forecasting & Demand Planning Guide

Technical Best Practices

• •**Digitize Every SKU:** You cannot plan what you cannot track. Assign unique barcodes to every product category. Use hand terminals to conduct a baseline physical audit.
• •**Clean Your Historical Data:** Before the AI can predict, you must feed it clean data. Purge discontinued items from your system and reconcile your physical stock with your digital ledger.
• •**Define Reorder Points (ROP):** Calculate your ROP based on lead time from local shipping partners (TCS, M&P, Leopard). If a shipment from Karachi to Islamabad takes 3 days, your ROP must trigger 5 days before the projected stock-out.
• •**Integrate Financials:** Link your inventory modules with your purchasing and sales ledger. Ensure that local bank transfers and Easypaisa/JazzCash receipts are automatically tagged to the corresponding order.
• •**Review and Pivot:** Demand planning is iterative. Perform a monthly "S&OP" (Sales and Operations Planning) meeting to adjust the forecast based on current macro-economic shifts in Pakistan.
• •Focus on 'A' Items:** Prioritize your top 20% of products (Pareto Principle) that generate 80% of your revenue. Apply the most stringent forecasting models to these high-velocity SKUs.
• •Maximize Supplier Visibility:** Share your demand projections with your key vendors. This allows them to align their production schedules with your needs.
• •Leverage Localized Insights:** Tailor your forecasting for specific regions. A product that flies off the shelves in Lahore may have different velocity in Peshawar; use geographic sales heatmaps.