Any retail or wholesale business wishing to succeed in the post-postmodern marketplace must take advantage of recent developments in AI-assisted business insights and demand planning. With the constant evolution of consumer behavior, the immense complexities of increasingly global supply chains, and economic pressures accentuating the need for operational efficiency at every level of a company, demand planning (using AI-informed data) has shifted from a second-tier logistical task to a key strategic function that’s directly at the heart of a business’s success. Let’s look at a couple of sectors and see what we can learn.
CGS has released its 10th annual BlueCherry State of Supply Chain & Technology Report, offering a detailed perspective into how priorities have changed over the past 10 years, as well as giving insights into what today’s leaders are focusing on next. Two important points highlighted by the 2025 report are the vital need for AI business insights and accurate demand planning. In the survey, over 300 executives from consumer lifestyle, fashion, footwear, apparel, and accessory brands weighed in. According to the findings, 91% of companies said AI insights are now critical to their growth. Another 77% say demand planning tools are a top priority in 2025, which is the highest level of interest in over the past four years. The intent is to focus on better planning to help prevent being surprised by irregularities in the supply chain, of which there have been many over recent years.
As an example of how an apparel brand is leveraging AI to improve demand planning and implementation, Fabletics is digitally overhauling its demand planning and forecasting systems to enable its new growth objectives, according to a February 2025 press release. Using intelligent demand forecasting solutions, the activewear brand has begun to leverage product demand patterns — driven by algorithms, sales, marketing and operations insights — to build an “ideal forecasting model,” as reported by Supply Chain Dive. The unified data view strives to allow greater demand planner productivity and improved inventory management. The report says that each implementation of the new planning system will go live in phases, which will allow for company/employee adjustment as well as any troubleshooting necessary before company-wide adoption.
Furthermore, in an uncertain market or during times of economic slowdown, luxury retail brands must work even harder to accurately forecast demand. Vogue Business reports that, by aligning inventory more closely with real-time demand, brands can mitigate the risks of overproduction and excess stock, saying that “The luxury slowdown is emphasising the importance of advanced demand forecasting and planning optimisation…. With reduced room for error, brands can leverage predictive analytics and data-driven tools to better align production schedules with consumer demand, maintaining good profitability while also minimising waste.” Those are obviously universal goals across all free-market businesses.
The Consumer Packaged Goods sector is extremely competitive and has to deal with issues that many other wholesale/retail businesses may not have to address, such as food items expiring and/or toiletries going out of date before they can be sold. Impact Analytics points out the importance of having an adaptable, flexible demand planning approach in such a dynamic market. It’s not enough to have a semiannual or even a monthly planning meeting in many cases. When the market conditions change on a nearly daily basis, it’s vital to regularly evaluate, learn, re-evaluate and refine your planning and forecasting strategies to stay ahead of the curve.
As in all other retail sectors, any optimal demand planning analytics platform for the complex world of CPG will leverage real-time data, statistical algorithms, and machine learning to inform the demand forecasting process, enabling companies to better anticipate and respond to a fluid market and changing customer needs. AI-assisted analytics allows businesses to analyze huge amounts of data to shed light on trends, patterns, and anomalies, including information relating to sales, customer data, and historical as well as recent market trends.
Real-time data analytics allow for more rapid adjustments to forecasts when necessary. In any fast-paced, high-competition retail environment, this flexibility and rapid adjustment capability is absolutely essential. Properly informed demand planning impacts everything from sourcing to inventory management to sales. Without an intelligent demand-planning solution, any retail supply chain strategy is at a significant disadvantage.
One example as to how real-time demand planning is improving supply chain issues in the CPG market is the turkey giant, Butterball. The Wall Street Journal reports that for Butterball, real-time demand forecasting has become essential during the holiday season, particularly around Thanksgiving when demand for turkeys spikes. The company has upgraded its systems to incorporate real-time data from multiple sources, including weather patterns, sales data, and historical trends. By analyzing this data, Butterball can adjust production schedules and distribution strategies to ensure they meet the holiday rush without overproducing, which helps reduce waste and optimize profits. This is especially important for food products such as whole fresh or frozen turkeys, which for many American consumers is a once- or twice-per-year purchase, rather than an item that is in demand consistently throughout the year.
As more companies are becoming aware of the vital need for intelligent demand-planning solutions, smarter company and team leads are implementing robust collaboration strategies between all stakeholders along the supply chain, from sourcing to production, from suppliers to distributors, from warehousing to retailers… all of it is interconnected. Synchronizing efforts across the supply chain ensures that businesses can align their inventory levels and production schedules with the anticipated demand. Of course, this collaboration and the improved data flow that results allow for ever-improving demand planning efforts in turn, and the entire organization and supply chain benefit.
As we move further into 2025, intelligent demand planning solutions will continue to be a key differentiator for companies aiming to stay competitive. By leveraging advanced technologies and implementing supply chain collaboration into their planning processes, businesses can meet consumer demands more efficiently and effectively. By embracing these strategies, companies are not only optimizing their operations but also positioning themselves to thrive in an increasingly complex, even chaotic global market.
The ORI Excellence Platform is the only software and AI tool purpose-built to help you achieve top-tier sales and operations planning and execution in one place. Reduce risk, manage uncertainty, and increase resilience with ORI.
Get a free demo and find out how ORI’s 30 years of experience and best-in-class technology can help you.