Forecast Collaboration

Forecast Collaboration allows you to view and respond to your customers' estimated demand for future periods. By sharing these estimates, you can proactively communicate potential shortages and help your customers make better-informed supply decisions.

View Customer Forecasts

To access shared forecasts, select the Forecasts tab from the top menu. After a customer successfully uploads a forecast via a CSV file, it becomes visible to you in this section.

The Forecasts table provides a high-level overview of demand, including:

  • The current state of the supply

  • The status of your feedback

  • The time period used for the forecast

  • The number of periods where demand is set and cannot be modified, typically because they are within the production lead time.

  • The number of periods beyond the lead time where the customer specifically requests your feedback.

Respond to Demand

Open a specific forecast to view detailed line items and submit your response. The Lines data table highlights which items are awaiting your feedback.

To help track supply, use the following rows:

  • Demand: The amount of items the customer expects to receive.

  • Supplier Response: Enter the amount of inventory you have available for the specified period.

  • Shortage/Surplus: This field automatically calculates the difference between the customer's demand and your response.

  • Change in Demand: This row shows how the customer's demand has shifted since your last response.

Note:

Alerts and notifications are generated only for time periods where a response is required.

Use Line-Level Comments

You can communicate directly with your customers regarding specific items using line-level comments.

  1. Open the forecast you are working with.

  2. In the Lines section, select the Add Comments icon next to the relevant line.

  3. Enter your comment in the window. You can include up to 10 attachments.

  4. Select Add Comments to send it to the customer.

You can edit or delete comments you created by selecting the three-dot menu next to the comment in the history. You cannot modify comments posted by the customer.