Demand Management in the Second Decade: The Strategic View - Sponsored Whitepaper

Demand Management has never been more important. From demand creation to marketing automation, demand forecasting, merchandising and assortment planning, collaboration with suppliers, and managing S&OP, getting demand management right is no longer just an option.

Our recent research 2010 Supply Chain Priorities showed that supply chain managers of all industries prized demand management processes and technology as their most critical priority. Thus, we are committing to an in-depth series in the brief to explore demand management. In addition, we have created new tech reports Demand Management for Retailers and Demand Management for Manufacturers to explore solutions that work.

Throughout the year this critical topic—Demand Management—will be explored by many facets, capturing the issues, challenges and most Importantly, the new opportunities to succeed at understanding your customers and markets and translating that into a successful Supply Chain strategy.

Leading firms understand that Demand Management is all about the customer: What are their needs, spoken or latent, and how do we procure or design just enough to sell to them? Demographic dynamics challenge the assumptions of what worked on the shelf last year, if it actually did work. Software is capable of recording and analyzing data within strict formats. But the reality is that life challenges a structural approach to knowledge. A great merchant or designer may be able to visualize a new product and who to sell it to, so most organizations need to understand the needs of their markets in a broader context.