Demand Planning and Forecasting Optimization - O9 Solutions and Azure Databricks

Overview

Retail companies need accurate demand planning and forecasting to manage inventory, optimize supply chain operations, and meet customer demands effectively. o9 Solutions and Azure Databricks were selected to enhance demand planning, improve forecast accuracy, and provide a scalable platform for data-driven decision-making.

Challenge
  • Inaccurate demand forecasting led to frequent stockouts and excess inventory, impacting sales and customer satisfaction.
  • Siloes data across different departments hindered collaborative planning and decision-making.
  • Limited visibility into real-time sales and market trends delayed responsiveness to changing consumer behaviors.
  • Inefficient manual processes for demand planning resulted in errors and delays.
  • Existing systems struggled to handle large volumes of data, affecting the ability to derive actionable insights.
Solution
  • Implemented o9 Solutions for integrated business planning, providing a unified platform for demand planning, supply chain optimization, and sales and operations planning.
  • Utilized Azure Databricks for advanced analytics and machine learning, enhancing forecast accuracy and enabling real-time data processing.
  • Established a data lake on Azure to centralize data from various sources, ensuring consistent and accessible data for analysis.
  • Deployed real-time dashboards and reporting tools using Power BI, providing insights into sales trends, inventory levels, and market demand.
  • Leveraged Azure Machine Learning for predictive analytics, enabling proactive demand forecasting and inventory management.
Key Results
Improved Forecast Accuracy

Increased demand forecasting accuracy by 25%, reducing stockouts and excess inventory.

Enhanced Collaboration

Improved cross-departmental collaboration through centralized data and unified planning processes.

Real-Time Insights

Provided real-time visibility into sales and market trends, enabling quicker response to changing consumer behaviors.

Technology
  • O9 Solutions

  • Azure Databricks

  • Azure Data Lake

  • Power BI

  • Azure Machine Learning