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3.  Demand & replenishment planning

[Supply chain & fulfillment](<https://www.thekeating.co/programs/supply-chain-fulfillment/>)

# Forecast demand and prioritize replenishment.

Stock decisions are based on stale forecasts or disconnected spreadsheets.

Trigger Planning cadence or inventory-cover threshold.

A replenishment decision for the next receipt window Illustrative example

Planning signal

Current view

Proposed response

Washable tote · navy

20 available; 60 expected demand before the next receipt; buffer target 10

Propose 50 units, subject to supplier packs and cash approval

Supplier lead time

Receipt moves from 14 to 21 days

Recalculate demand over the longer window and raise a stockout exception

Cash requirement

50 units × $32 landed cost = $1,600

Show the commitment before the planner approves the order

Initial scenario: a 14-day receipt window, no reserved units or confirmed inbound stock. The later receipt triggers a new forecast; supplier minimums and budget checks still apply.

**What you get**Demand forecasts, reorder proposals and cash requirements kept current as trading and supply change.

[Discuss this use case](<https://www.thekeating.co/contact/?source=project&landing_path=%2Fuse-cases%2Freplenishment-planning%2F&intent=project&cta_page=%2Fuse-cases%2Freplenishment-planning%2F&cta_placement=hero&use_case=replenishment-planning>)  [How it works](<https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/replenishment-planning/#workflow>)

Led by operators with 15+ years building commerce products, teams and systems. [About us](<https://www.thekeating.co/about/>)

## Today

Planners copy sales and stock into spreadsheets, then chase supplier dates before deciding what to buy.

## With this in place

A current demand and stock view recalculates proposed orders when sales, receipts or lead times change. Planners review the exceptions and approve commitments.

## Who does what, step by step.

### Your team

Planners choose service and cash targets, challenge assumptions and approve purchase commitments.

### AI

AI explains forecast changes and supplier exceptions using the source evidence.

### Automation

Scheduled integrations refresh stock and receipts. Forecasting models estimate demand; explicit rules size proposed orders.

01 02 03 04 05

1.  01
    
    Step 1:  Automation
    
    ### Refresh the planning signals
    
    Bring confirmed sales, available stock and inbound dates into the planning view; flag missing or stale inputs.
    
2.  02
    
    Step 2:  Automation
    
    ### Forecast demand and stock cover
    
    Use a statistical forecasting model with seasonality and known events. Calculate cover and projected stockouts against the agreed lead time.
    
3.  03
    
    Step 3:  Automation
    
    ### Prepare constrained reorder proposals
    
    Apply pack sizes, minimum orders and cash limits to suggested quantities. Show the assumptions and trade-offs.
    
4.  04
    
    Step 4:  AI
    
    ### Explain the exceptions
    
    Use AI to summarize material changes and the source evidence behind them, including uncertainty and conflicting supplier information.
    
5.  05
    
    Step 5:  Your team
    
    ### Approve and track the order
    
    A planner approves or changes the proposal. The integration creates a draft purchase order and tracks receipts against the plan.
    

### Guardrails

-   Forecast ranges and missing demand signals remain visible; a forecast is not a purchase commitment.
-   Pack sizes, supplier minimums and cash constraints are applied by explicit planning rules.
-   Authorized planners approve purchasing; approved order identifiers prevent duplicate submissions.

## What a first project includes.

A bounded first build around your systems and team. We agree the scope, fee and baseline before we start.

[Scope this with us](<https://www.thekeating.co/contact/?source=project&landing_path=%2Fuse-cases%2Freplenishment-planning%2F&intent=project&cta_page=%2Fuse-cases%2Freplenishment-planning%2F&cta_placement=content&use_case=replenishment-planning>)  [How we work together](<https://www.thekeating.co/working-together/>)

Sample scope Demand & replenishment planning

### We build

-   A demand and replenishment model connected to sales, inventory and purchasing systems
-   A review screen showing cover, reorder proposals, cash requirements and exceptions
-   Approved purchase-order handoffs and a recurring forecast-quality review

### We start from

-   Sales history, stock on hand, reserved units and confirmed inbound receipts
-   Supplier lead times, minimum orders, pack sizes and landed costs
-   Promotion plans, service targets, purchasing limits and available cash

### From your team

Owner

-   Inventory Lead
-   Supply Chain Lead
-   Operations Lead

Involves

-   Supply chain
-   Planning
-   Fulfillment
-   Finance
-   Merchandising
-   Supplier or logistics partners

Access to these systems and real examples to test against.

### Adapts to

-   Supplier-led production
-   Own manufacturing
-   Partner fulfillment
-   Internal fulfillment

### We’d measure

-   Forecast error and bias by comparable product group
-   Stock availability, aged stock and inventory cover
-   Working capital committed and planner review time

Baselines agreed before we build.

## Questions teams ask.

Do we need to replace our current tools?

Usually not. We start with the systems you already use and build only what’s missing.

Typical connections: ERP, inventory and order systems, supplier portals, 3PLs and carriers.

Who owns it once it’s running?

Your team does. You own the agreed deliverables under the engagement terms, with documentation and training for the people who run it. Ownership usually sits with your inventory lead, supply chain lead or operations lead.

Ongoing support is optional and agreed separately.

How do we get started?

If the problem and scope are already clear, we can scope this build directly. If you’re weighing it against other priorities, start with Discovery & Action Plan.

Its fee is credited in full if we build the recommended work.

[How discovery works](<https://www.thekeating.co/discovery/>)

## Often paired with.

Part of [Commercial and supply planning](<https://www.thekeating.co/solutions/commercial-supply-planning/>)

[All use cases](<https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/>)

-   Merchandising & commercial planning
    
    ### Margin-aware markdowns
    
    Broad discounts clear stock without showing the margin trade-off.
    
    SKU-level markdown scenarios with stock, demand and contribution trade-offs, followed by approved price updates.
    
    [Margin-aware markdowns](<https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/margin-aware-markdowns/>)
    
-   Finance & business intelligence
    
    ### The weekly trading brief
    
    Leaders receive dashboards but still have to assemble the narrative and next steps.
    
    A sourced trading brief with decisions, action owners and follow-through.
    
    [Revenue grew; contribution weakened](<https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/executive-trading-brief/>)
    
-   Merchandising & commercial planning
    
    ### Promotion orchestration
    
    Offer details and dependencies diverge across teams and channels.
    
    Connected offer rules, briefs and channel tasks that respond to changes and keep approval status visible.
    
    [Identify affected work](<https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/promotion-orchestration/>)
    

More connected work

## Also related

-   [Fulfillment exceptions](<https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/fulfillment-exceptions/>)

## Explore the programs

-   [Supply chain & fulfillment](<https://www.thekeating.co/programs/supply-chain-fulfillment/>)
-   [Merchandising & commercial planning](<https://www.thekeating.co/programs/merchandising/>)
-   [Finance & business intelligence](<https://www.thekeating.co/programs/commercial-reporting/>)

## Browse by outcome

-   [Improve margin and cash flow](<https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/?outcome=margin-cash>)
-   [Increase team capacity](<https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/?outcome=team-capacity>)

## Buy the right stock at the right time. Start with one product group.

[Discuss this use case](<https://www.thekeating.co/contact/?source=project&landing_path=%2Fuse-cases%2Freplenishment-planning%2F&intent=project&cta_page=%2Fuse-cases%2Freplenishment-planning%2F&cta_placement=closing&use_case=replenishment-planning>) [**Talk through replenishment**15 minutes](<https://cal.com/nkeating/15min>)

[Prefer to start with discovery? →](<https://www.thekeating.co/discovery/>)

We reply within one business day.

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Source: [https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/replenishment-planning/](<https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/replenishment-planning/>)

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