Using QAD to Manage Customer Forecast
Posted on: November 22, 2021 | By: Andrew Hall | QAD Business Process
Customer demand is what drives the supply chain. With today’s disruptive supply chain, it is important to plan for future customer demand. QAD allows entry of customer forecast far enough out into the future to drive the supply chain, along with planning for seasonal builds, holidays, and other manufacturing downtime.
The forecast maintenance screen allows users to add weekly or monthly forecast by item number, site, and year. Users can add multiple years of forecast to drive the supply chain demand. MRP will use forecasted demand to drive the raw components needed to meet the demand.
The customers’ demand can consume the forecast so that users do not have to adjust the forecast when the customer orders are entered. The forecast worksheet allows users to view the forecast amount, sales demand entered, any abnormal demand, the production forecast, and the net forecast remaining after consumption. Users are also able to adjust the forecasted demand while reviewing the worksheet.
If a seasonal build is being planned for a product, the user can add in seasonal build requirement for MRP planning. This allows users to drive the demand of the supply chain to ensure the raw components are in stock to build ahead to meet the seasonal demand. MRP will drive for the seasonal demand so that the inventory is in place on the entered date. The inventory will not be available for customer demand while the seasonal build is being planned for.
Next Steps
If you are interested in learning more about managing customer forecasts in QAD and/or maximizing the use of your QAD system, 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) 345-8810.