Forecasting Demand in the Food & Beverage Industry with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management

The Food & Beverage industry’s unique challenges in demand forecasting stem from factors such as perishable goods, volatile consumer preferences, and pronounced seasonality. Dynamics 365’s Demand Forecasting equips businesses in this sector with specially designed insights and agile solutions to address these challenges. You can explore the basics of Dynamic 365 Demand Forecasting here. Here’s an in-depth look at how this tool can revolutionize the Food & Beverage industry:

Utilizing Machine Learning for Predictive Insights

• Modularity in Forecasting: Dynamics 365’s Demand Forecasting offers a modular approach, providing flexibility to accommodate seasonal trends like summer’s fresh produce demand or holiday beverage spikes.
• Harnessing Predictive Analysis: Leveraging Microsoft’s Cortana Analytics Suite, businesses can gain data-driven insights into predicting consumer tastes, managing perishable inventory efficiently, and crafting region-specific strategies.

Data Integration

Here is a basic flow of demand forecasting.

Integration is key in an industry where companies often manage data across disparate systems. Dynamics 365’s Demand Forecasting has the ability to pull data from diverse sources which is pivotal for Food & Beverage companies that operate across different platforms or have undergone mergers and acquisitions. Whether it’s Excel spreadsheets, CSV files, or data from previous Dynamics versions, a unified dataset is created and can be used for tracking seasonal product performances and for cross-departmental collaboration.  This seamless approach is vital for:

• Tracking Seasonal Performance: Historical analysis of seasonal variations can be conducted with ease.
• Facilitating Collaboration: By bridging data gaps, it fosters a cohesive strategy across various departments like procurement, marketing, and production.

Visualizing and Adjusting Forecasts

Beyond the creation of forecasts, Dynamics 365’s Supply Chain Management platform lets businesses in the Food & Beverage industry visualize trends, assimilate historical data, and make adjustments to their forecasts. This flexibility is crucial for adapting to the ever-changing consumer tastes in this industry (Note: manual adjustments must be authorized before being used for planning). Visualizing trends can help understand past performance and current market trajectories for specific products.

Next Steps:

If you are interested in learning more about demand forecasting for the food & beverage industry in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Supply Chain Management, contact us here to find out how we can help you grow your business. You can also email us at info@loganconsulting.com or call (312) 345-8817.