Precision now, fulfillment later: Intertape Polymer, Godiva Chocolatier use forecasting suites to position themselves to reduce costs, better meet customer demand

摘要

The old forecasting process at Intertape Polymer Group was inefficient, requiring one forecaster to cut and paste data from a database to an Excel spreadsheet. Worse, however, was that the resulting single-forecast model couldn't account for seasonality and forecast at both sub-class and product levels. "We couldn't fill our regional distribution centers accurately, so while we had excess inventory and could fill customers' orders, we couldn't necessarily ship them from the closest distribution center," says Dan O'Brien, corporate forecasting and inventory control manager at the Sarasota, Fla.-based manufacturer of Intertape brand sealing tape, masking tape, duct tape, and other specialty tapes; shrink film; and stretch wrap.