Purpose of the lesson

Use a demand forecast and customer-order information to prepare a daily operational schedule for each customer and stock-keeping unit.

Practical outcome

By the end of this lesson, you must be able to:

• Interpret a demand forecast.
• identify customers or end users.
• Identify the relevant stock-keeping units.
• Convert forecast demand into scheduled customer orders.
• Determine appropriate order and delivery dates.
• Break the schedule down by day, customer and product.
• Check that the completed schedule is accurate and workable.

1. Gather the required information

Obtain the following information before preparing the schedule:

• Demand forecast
• Confirmed customer orders
• Customer or end-user list
• Product master or SKU list
• Required quantities
• Order dates
• Requested delivery dates
• Customer priorities
• Lead times
• Available inventory
• Production or replenishment information
• Transport or delivery constraints
• Weekends, public holidays and operating calendars

Record any missing or unclear information and confirm it with the responsible person before finalising the schedule.

2. Verify the demand forecast

Review the forecast and confirm:

1. The forecast period
2. The products covered
3. Forecast quantities
4. Forecast unit of measure
5. Demand by customer, region or sales channel
6. Seasonal or promotional demand
7. Whether the information is current
8. Whether confirmed orders have already been included

Do not treat every forecast quantity as a confirmed customer order. Use the forecast to plan expected demand and use confirmed orders to schedule actual customer commitments.

3. List the customers or end users

Create a customer register containing:

Confirm each customer’s:

• Delivery address
• Delivery window
• Order-cut-off time
• Minimum order quantity
• Priority status
• Contact details
• Special handling requirements

4. Identify each stock-keeping unit

A stock-keeping unit is a unique code assigned to a particular product or product variation.

Compile or verify the product information:

Check the SKU carefully. Products with different sizes, colours, packaging or specifications must not be combined incorrectly.

5. Convert forecast demand into a daily schedule

Break the forecast period into individual working days.

For each day:

1. Identify the customers requiring orders.
2. Allocate the relevant SKUs.
3. Enter the required quantity per SKU.
4. distinguish forecast demand from confirmed orders.
5. Consider available stock and expected replenishment.
6. Confirm that the daily demand can be processed.
7. Record any shortages or constraints.

A daily schedule allows the warehouse, production, procurement and transport teams to prepare the required resources.

Daily demand schedule template

6. Determine the order date

The order date must provide enough time to complete all activities before delivery.

Work backwards from the required delivery date and consider:

• Order-processing time
• Procurement lead time
• Production time
• Picking and packing time
• Quality checks
• Loading time
• Transport lead time
• Non-working days
• Contingency time

A basic calculation is:

Latest order date = Required delivery date − Total operational lead time

If delivery is required on 20 June and the total operational lead time is five working days, schedule the order no later than 13 June where a weekend falls within the period.

Confirm the organisation’s working calendar when calculating dates.

7. Determine the delivery date

Set the delivery date by considering:

• Customer-requested date
• Product availability
• Production or replenishment completion
• Warehouse-processing capacity
• Vehicle availability
• Route schedule
• Transport lead time
• Customer receiving hours
• Public holidays and operating restrictions

Do not confirm an unachievable delivery date. Escalate any conflict and agree on a revised date with the authorised parties.

8. Check stock availability

Compare scheduled demand with available and expected stock.

Use:

Projected balance = Opening stock + Planned receipts − Scheduled demand

Example:

• Opening stock: 300 units
• Planned receipts: 150 units
• Scheduled demand: 400 units

Projected balance = 300 + 150 − 400 = 50 units

A negative projected balance indicates a shortage. Record the shortage and determine whether to:

• Expedite replenishment
• Adjust production
• Reallocate available stock
• Prioritise customers
• Split the delivery
• Agree on a revised delivery date

9. Resolve scheduling conflicts

Identify conflicts such as:

• Two priority customers requiring the same limited stock
• Demand exceeding daily warehouse capacity
• Product availability occurring after the requested delivery date
• Delivery dates falling on non-operating days
• Incomplete customer or product information
• Order quantities that do not meet packaging requirements

Resolve conflicts according to authorised business rules. Record the decision, responsible person and effect on the schedule.

10. Prepare the final customer-order schedule

Your final schedule must show:

Break the schedule down by day, customer and SKU, as required by the internal assessment criterion.

11. Validate the schedule

Before submitting the schedule:

1. Reconcile scheduled quantities with the source information.
2. Confirm that every customer is included.
3. Check all SKU codes and descriptions.
4. Confirm order and delivery dates.
5. Verify calculations.
6. Check inventory and planned receipts.
7. Review resource and delivery constraints.
8. Record unresolved exceptions.
9. Obtain the required approval.
10. save the approved schedule according to organisational procedures.

Practical task

You are provided with a case study containing a demand forecast for a new smartwatch launch.

Using the supplied forecast and supporting information:

1. Convert the forecast into a customer or end-user order schedule.
2. List all customers or end users.
3. Identify every applicable SKU.
4. Allocate quantities by customer and SKU.
5. Determine appropriate order dates.
6. Determine achievable delivery dates.
7. Break the schedule down by day.
8. Identify shortages, missing information or scheduling conflicts.
9. Revise the schedule where necessary.
10. Submit the completed and checked schedule.

Required evidence

Include the following in your Portfolio of Evidence:

• Source demand forecast
• Customer or end-user register
• SKU or product list
• Completed daily customer-order schedule
• Stock-availability calculation
• Record of identified shortages or constraints
• Revised schedule, where applicable
• Evidence of checking or approval
• Learner declaration of authenticity

Competence checklist

The supervisor, facilitator or mentor must confirm that the learner can:

Lesson Summary

To prepare an operational demand-execution schedule, interpret the forecast, identify customers and SKUs, allocate quantities and determine realistic order and delivery dates. Break the schedule down by day, customer and product. Check stock availability, lead times and operational capacity before confirming customer commitments. Record and resolve shortages or scheduling conflicts, verify the completed schedule and retain all supporting documents as practical evidence.

11:59 AM