ABSTRACT
Demand management needs to incorporate more than just planning and fulfillment. There is a big need today for companies to strengthen their demand management capabilities. Supply chain executives consistently cite demand volatility and the lack of demand visibility as two of their top challenges. Additionally, innovation and growth depend on a company’s ability to quickly and effectively process and respond to demand. The solution is to move beyond thinking of demand management in the traditional terms of supply and demand planning and fulfillment. Instead, companies need to create a comprehensive demand management strategy that also encompasses demand forecasting, sensing, and shaping. Thus, five-stage best-practice methodology was created for demand strategy. They are: demand forecasting, demand planning, demand sensing, demand shaping, and demand fulfillment. To become better at demand management, companies need to create a structure that connects these abilities to create a well-thought-out response to customer demand.
