The Basics of Commercial Demand Forecasting course is part of the entire S&OP process which deals primarily on the commercial side of the volumes/business involving Marketing, Shopper Marketing and Sales Management. This course considers the significant emphasis on historical data analysis and baseline numbers review together with the 'enrichments' or incremental and reductions drawn from initiatives like promotions, new brands and product discontinuation. This also takes into account the segmentation approach from product SKUs to channels and customers/accounts.
Given the increasing focus on operational efficiencies, accurate forecasting from the commercial teams will contribute in improving the inventory levels across product lines in both company and trade channels. This will allow the participants to appreciate the detailed methodologies needed to come up with better forecast numbers that will lead to higher forecast accuracy performances. The exercises will also allow the participants to look closely into the impact of promotions, new product introductions, product discontinuity as well as seasonality factors.
End in mind is for the commercial team members to be able to develop more realistic forecast numbers to be used in their annual volume planning, monthly/weekly volume planning and review cycles.
Sales Managers – Handling Distributors & Top Modern Trade Accounts. Sales Managers in-charge of a group either GT or MT. National Sales Managers. Demand Managers. Shopper Marketing personnel.