2010
New England Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition

Demand Planning for the Service Industries
Mark Chockalingam, MBA, Ph.D., Managing Principal, Demand Planning LLC

The concept of Demand Planning and Inventory Management is well understood in a typical manufacturing environment which has a tangible and identifiable product with a demand history and a well established production process. However, companies in the service industry find it a challenge when faced with demand volatility. Although parts usage can be forecasted, these are very tactical forecasts that may not be accurate when influenced by changes in demand trend or marketing or sales campaigns that promote specific types of services.

In this presentation we discuss the process and challenges of demand planning for the service industry including service parts planning and MRO spares. By attending this presentation you will learn to answer the following questions:

1. What are typical scenarios of demand planning in the service industry: Oil Services, Facilities Management,
     IT infrastructure management, Repairs and replacement services, Demand for Forms/Catalogs/Print Materials.
2. Why demand planning is important to the service industry?
3. Why tactical short-term usage forecasts can be wrong?
4. Are Bill of Materials relevant in a service industry?
5. How do Marketing and Sales impact demand planning in the Service industry?
6. Are there benefits to more accurate forecasts of service and the parts to be stocked?
7. How should you define a demand planning process for a service oriented business?