Overcoming demand forecasting challenges in an omnichannel environment

In today’s post-COVID world, the consumer lives in an omnichannel environment. Features like buying online for in-store pickup are quickly becoming mainstays of the shopping experience. But while this step-change has made shopping more convenient for the consumer, it’s made business-critical activities like demand forecasting even more challenging. The shift has caused many retailers to evolve new strategies and invest in new digital capabilities that create a more accurate picture of demand across multiple channels and help retailers make the optimal inventory placement decisions to meet it.

On October 12th at 12:00 PM ET, don’t miss this interactive aim10x Roundtable led by Brady Coady, Associate VP of Merchandise Planning and Allocation at FGL Sports Ltd., as we explore questions such as:

• What factors make forecasting demand difficult in an omnichannel environment?
• How has the consumer’s choice of channel evolved prior, during, and post-COVID?
• What new capabilities have you seen or built in order to better manage omnichannel fulfillment?
• What are some of the demand-shaping techniques you’ve used, and have they been successful?
• What demand forecasting tactics are you using to reduce channel error rates?
• What inventory strategies or capabilities are you using to offset these demand forecasting challenges?

We keep the agenda simple

1. Introduction
2. Setting the scene
3. Group discussion
4. Networking

Why should you register?

If you’re missing the collaborative and conversational elements from a webinar, then an aim10x Roundtable is the perfect option for you. Get ready to do a deep dive into different topics related to digital transformation and have a high-quality discussion with your peers. We host both industry-specific and cross-industry aim10x Roundtables, so there’s always a topic of interest to you.

Who is it for?

This Roundtable is best suited to VPs and Directors in the retail industry but is open to all industry professionals looking to expand their knowledge of optimizing demand forecasting and order fulfillment in an omnichannel environment.

What are the best demand and supply practices retailers can deploy to offset the challenges of forecasting in an increasingly volatile and complex omnichannel environment?

Here are the main takeaways from this aim10x Roundtable led by Brady Coady, Associate VP of Merchandise Planning and Allocation at FGL Sports Ltd.

• Demand shaping tactics

Demand shaping becomes a more important practice if we can’t adequately or accurately forecast in a volatile and complex environment. Some demand-shaping tactics that retailers can deploy to offset this are Geofencing, Channel-Specific Inventory, Channel Incentivization, and Product Boosting and Suppression.

• Leveraging last-mile carriers

Engaging with last-mile carriers like DoorDash can offset the inability to adequately forecast the channel by giving consumers the choice of quickly (slightly faster than BIPOS) receiving products directly to their door but at an increased cost to them.

• Inventory tactics

Shortening commit times to DCs, the ability to divert products from one location to another at the last minute, and performing due diligence on aged inventory are all powerful inventory tactics for offsetting forecasting challenges.

See what Brady Coady believes is the number one enemy of e-commerce fulfillment in the short clip below: