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Production planning from demand forecasts

A Slovak fresh-food producer (salads and deli products)

From processed demand forecasts the system automatically proposes daily and weekly production orders — accounting for stock, orders, promotions and holidays. The system proposes, the planner approves.

Challenge

In fresh-food production with a short shelf life, a wrong plan means either writing off products or shortages at customers. Demand forecasts existed, but they had to be turned into a usable production plan.

Solution

The forecasts were supplied by another partner; our team built the system that processes them into a production plan. It combines them with stock levels, open orders, promotions and a working calendar, and sends the resulting daily or weekly plan for approval — the system proposes, the planner decides.

Results:

• Automatic proposal of daily and weekly production orders from processed forecasts
• Planning at the level of product, customer segment and customer group
• Accounts for stock, safety stock, promotions and holidays (shifting production across weekends)
• In real production use for several years

From forecast to production order

The final quantity is not just the forecast: the system computes it as the forecast plus safety stock, minus current stock and the last production batch, plus open customer orders — accounting for average consumption over recent days, segment-targeted and mass promotions, and a working calendar with holidays.

The system proposes, a person decides

The proposed production plan goes through an approval flow (awaiting approval / approved / under revision). Data on actual sales, orders and stock comes from the ERP, so the plan rests on real numbers, not an estimate.