As a natural progression, Visulon offerings now cover Demand Planning and Demand forecasting. Demand forecasting is the process of predicting the future demand for your Apparel and Fashion new styles by category or by region. This is an important aspect of merchandising planning processes for your business. It also helps to better understand consumer trends and make informed decisions about how to allocate resources.
There are several steps involved in demand forecasting planning. Visulon allows aggregation of past sales data by categories and by region. Additionally, consumer sentiments and buying patterns are collected by analyzing the big data. Using various options, including statistical models, expert opinions, and artificial intelligence techniques, this big data is collected.
Once a forecasting method has been chosen, apparel and fashion brands must set up a system to track and analyze data. This may involve using software tools or hiring a team of analysts. It is important to regularly review and update the forecast to ensure it remains accurate and relevant.
In addition to helping fashion brands make informed decisions about resource allocation, demand forecasting can also help to identify potential bottlenecks in the store supply-chain and allow for proactive solutions. It can also help to mitigate the impact of external factors such as economic downturns or shifts in consumer preferences.
Features of a Demand Forecasting methodologies:
- Data integration: The ability to pull in data from various sources, such as sales data, market research, and social media data.
- Forecasting algorithms: A range of algorithms that can be used to predict future demand, such as time series analysis, linear regression, and machine learning techniques.
- Collaboration tools: Features that allow team members to work together and share data and insights, such as project management tools and real-time communication features.
- Data visualization: Graphs and charts that help to make data easier to understand and interpret, such as bar charts, line graphs, and scatter plots.
- Customization options: The ability to customize the software to fit the specific needs of a business, such as setting up custom alerts and notifications.
- Integration with other tools: The ability to integrate with other software and systems, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
Overall, demand forecasting planning is a crucial aspect of business planning that helps Apparel and Fashion brands to stay ahead of the competition and meet the needs of their customers in every region they operate.