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Inventory Forecasts & Flow

The Forecast tab provides visual representations of your inventory projections and supply chain movements. It includes both a summary chart and a detailed forecast grid, along with a flow diagram view showing how inventory moves through your supply chain.

Forecast Tab

Navigate to InventoryForecast tab.

Visualization Toggle

The Forecast tab includes a toggle to switch between two visualization types:
ViewDescription
ChartSummary chart showing inventory, consumption, and replenishment over time
Flow DiagramVisual diagram showing supply chain flows between suppliers, warehouses, and channels

Simulation Modes

Both views support two simulation modes:
ModeDescription
UserShows projections based on your current supply plan (draft transactions marked as in plan)
SystemShows projections based on system-generated recommendations
When the chart is displayed, both User and System data are shown simultaneously with distinct color schemes. The selected mode controls which lines are emphasized with thicker strokes and solid colors.

Summary Chart

The summary chart is a composed chart (bars + lines) showing key inventory metrics over time.

Chart Elements

ElementVisualDescription
ConsumptionBars (orange)Projected demand consumption per period
ReplenishmentBars (blue)Incoming inventory from orders per period
InventoryLine (black for User, gray for System)Projected sellable inventory level
Safety StockLine (yellow)Safety stock threshold
OverstockLine (red)Overstock threshold

Dual-Mode Display

Both User and System projections are displayed together:
  • User mode colors — Solid, primary colors (orange consumption, blue replenishment, black inventory)
  • System mode colors — Lighter, secondary colors (light orange, light blue, gray)
This side-by-side display helps you quickly see where your plan differs from the system’s recommendations.

Chart Interactions

  • Hover — See exact values for any period
  • Legend — Click legend items to show/hide individual data series
  • Period View — Toggle between daily, weekly, and monthly aggregation

Forecast Grid

Below the summary chart, the Forecast Grid displays detailed projection data in a hierarchical table using AG Grid.

Grid Hierarchy

The grid is organized in a tree structure:
LevelContent
WarehouseTop-level grouping by warehouse
SKUIndividual products within each warehouse
Starting InventorySellable inventory at the start of each period
ConsumptionTotal demand consumption, expandable to show breakdown
ReplenishmentTotal incoming supply, expandable to show breakdown
Ending InventoryProjected sellable inventory at end of each period

Consumption Breakdown

Expand the Consumption row to see a breakdown by source:
  • Direct Sales — Consumption from sales channels
  • Transfers Out — Inventory transferred to other warehouses
  • Bundle Consumption — Inventory used in bundle/kit production
  • Production Consumption — Materials consumed in manufacturing

Replenishment Breakdown

Expand the Replenishment row to see incoming inventory by source:
  • Purchases — Orders from suppliers
  • Transfers In — Inventory received from other warehouses
  • Individual Transactions — Each draft or submitted transaction is shown as its own row with:
    • Transaction name and reference number
    • Source type indicator (User Plan or System Recommended)
    • Active date range highlighting (blue shading for draft, green for submitted/in-progress)

Dataset Visibility

Toggle which datasets are displayed:
ModeShows
AllInventory, consumption, and replenishment together
InventoryOnly starting and ending inventory rows
ConsumptionOnly consumption rows
ReplenishmentOnly replenishment rows

Period Views

Switch between time aggregations:
ViewDescription
DailyDay-by-day projections
WeeklyAggregated by week
MonthlyAggregated by month

Filtering

Filter the forecast grid by:
  • Warehouse — Focus on specific locations
  • SKU — View specific products
  • Collection — Filter by product group
  • Health Status — Show only SKUs with specific health statuses (Out of Stock, Low Inventory, Overstock, Healthy)

Exporting Data

Click the Export button to download the forecast grid data as a CSV file.

Flow Diagram

Toggle to the Flow Diagram view to see a visual representation of inventory movements.

Diagram Elements

ElementShapeDescription
SupplierNodeExternal vendors providing inventory
WarehouseNodeInventory storage locations
ChannelNodeSales channels and destinations
Flow EdgeArrowMovement of goods between nodes, with quantity labels

Flow Information

Each flow line shows:
  • Direction of movement
  • Quantity being moved
  • Source and destination

Filtering the Flow

Focus the diagram on specific aspects:
  • Date Range — View flows within a specific time window
  • Warehouse — Filter to flows involving specific warehouses
  • SKU/Collection — Filter to specific products
  • Channel — Focus on specific sales channels

Using Forecasts for Planning

Identifying Issues

Look for these patterns in the summary chart and grid:
PatternIndicatesAction
Inventory drops below safety stockUpcoming safety stock breachAdd replenishment orders
Inventory reaches zeroProjected stockoutCreate urgent orders
Inventory stays above overstock lineExcess inventoryReduce or delay orders
User and System projections divergeRecommendations availableReview system recommendations

Comparing User vs. System Plans

Use the dual-mode display to compare your plan against the system:
  1. User mode — Shows projections based on your current supply plan
  2. System mode — Shows what the system recommends
  3. Gap — Where the lines diverge represents improvement opportunities
If the System projection shows better inventory health than your User plan, review the system’s recommendations in the Supply Plan tab.

Best Practices

Check forecasts on a regular schedule:
  • Daily: Review next 2 weeks for urgent issues
  • Weekly: Review next 90 days for planning
  • Monthly: Review 6-12 month horizon for strategy
Use the forecast to validate:
  • Are lead times accurate? Check when replenishment appears vs. order dates
  • Is the demand forecast reasonable? Compare consumption against actuals
  • Are safety stock levels appropriate? Check how often breaches are projected
Always compare User vs. System plans:
  • Understand the impact of system recommendations
  • Identify where your plan may have gaps
  • Make informed decisions about accepting recommendations
The forecast grid provides granular data:
  • Expand consumption to see which channels drive demand
  • Expand replenishment to see each incoming transaction
  • Use period views to match your planning cadence

Troubleshooting

Chart Not Loading

Possible causes:
  • Supply simulation hasn’t been run yet
  • Large dataset is loading
  • Filters return no matching data
Solutions:
  1. Click Refresh to trigger a new simulation
  2. Wait for loading to complete
  3. Adjust filters to ensure data exists for the selected criteria

Unexpected Patterns

Possible causes:
  • Demand forecast is inaccurate
  • Lead times are misconfigured
  • Transactions are not included in the supply plan
Solutions:
  1. Verify demand forecast accuracy
  2. Check lead time settings for warehouses and suppliers
  3. Ensure relevant draft transactions are added to the supply plan

Next Steps

Supply Plan

Manage replenishment orders

Inventory Dashboard

Monitor inventory health and alerts

Warehouses

Configure warehouse settings

Suppliers

Configure supplier capabilities