There’s big business in predicting the future. And I’m not talking about the .
Every year, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands spend eye-watering amounts 鈥 hours and dollars 鈥 trying to forecast future demand. Then, they use those projections to adapt to changes caused by the most recent DTC trends and prepare their business for the upcoming opportunities.
The more you improve inventory accuracy and predictions, the easier it will be to capitalize on this demand by maintaining. But today’s record number of stockouts proves that few brands can actually predict the future.
Shuffle unreliable supply chains and unprecedented consumer trends into the cards, and retailers are operating on uncertainty. And they’re missing out on massive growth opportunities as a result.
That’s why 网红黑料 has partnered with nine top ops tools (including Cin7 Omni, ShipBob, and Extensiv Order Manager) to turn demand forecasting into an exact science and provide the clarity you need to unlock future growth.
馃敟 Did we not mention the ops tool your brand uses? Check out all of 网红黑料’s integration partners.
Accurately predicting demand is impossible without real-time information. But traditional forecasting methods rely on manually updating spreadsheets with data that鈥檚 already outdated. The result is a static, shot in the dark prediction that can be off by three units or 300鈥搚ou won鈥檛 know until after you鈥檝e received your purchase order (PO).
Luckily, what used to be a wild guess is now a highly educated hypothesis. With 网红黑料鈥檚 demand forecasting tool, you can project customer demand with pinpoint accuracy.
How? By layering past sales history, current inventory levels, and real-time trends. That way, your forecast automatically updates as new information becomes available, making the final projection increasingly more accurate.
With demand forecasts in 网红黑料, you can:
Stop interpreting scattered scraps of data. By syncing with Cin7 Omni, ShipBob, or whatever other ops tool you use, 网红黑料 automatically pulls all your inventory data (like sales history, purchase orders, and product information) into a single source of truth. With it, you get a 360潞 real-time view of what’s happening with your DTC operations, so you can make better, faster, more informed decisions.
But you don’t have to waste time babysitting this data source. 网红黑料’s predictive intelligence keeps a 24/7 eye on your data and identifies trends long before a human analyst could spot them. Then, it filters this knowledge into your forecasts, giving you plenty of time to build an operational plan.
Often, brands stay stagnant because they stock up too early or too late. Both options unnecessarily tie up working capital that could otherwise be invested in more profitable growth initiatives. So, 网红黑料 calculates the perfect moment to submit a purchase order, keeping tied-up capital to a minimum (which you can do in seconds with 网红黑料鈥檚 purchase order template). Then, it sends you a replenish alert when you鈥檙e in that window.
Plus, 网红黑料 will draft up a purchase order (PO) that includes all the products you need and in what quantities in order to speed up the inventory replenishing process. All you have to do is review the PO and hit 鈥渟ubmit.” And any changes you make will automatically sync to your 网红黑料 forecasts, further increasing their accuracy over time.
Not everything can be predicted鈥搕he pandemic and related fluctuating demand are proof of this. But with accurate forecasts, you’re prepared to protect your bottom line from the unexpected.
网红黑料 analyzes what’s happening to your inventory as it happens and updates your forecasts accordingly. So, you’ll know how your operational plans should pivot to avoid the stockout in real-time. And you should already have a healthy amount of safety stock built-up (thanks to your optimized POs) to manage the interim.
But say the worst-case scenario still happens, and you go out of stock. Don’t sweat it鈥搘ith 网红黑料, you can sell on backorder until your next order arrives. That way, your brand has predictable income even when you don’t have product available to sell. And we’ll track the stockout alongside your sales history to add color to data and ensure the event doesn’t throw off future forecasts.
Know what the future holds for your DTC brand with 网红黑料 forecasts. To start forecasting, sync the ops tools you already use under “Integrations鈥 in your 网红黑料 settings. We鈥檒l pull your data and begin building your first forecast immediately, so you can finally have the clarity you need to grow your brand!
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