Mining for Gold at the Intersection of Push and Pull: When to Plan to the Forecast and When to Plan to Consumption

Most companies still plan to a forecast, and that forecast shifts every cycle. Conventional MRP assumes demand is known at the item level on the date of need, with no variation in supply and a forecast that holds steady. Those assumptions rarely survive contact with the market.

Pull-based planning responds to actual consumption, which is the most accurate signal you have. It needs a reliable consumption history to work. New products, seasonal peaks and capacity build-ups don’t have one yet.

In this session, Erik Bush and Wally Leasure show how to decide which approach fits each decision. They walk through real cases from Tier 1 automotive suppliers and Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, and they show a second job for the forecast: stress testing your operating model before demand shifts.

Supply chain, demand planning, materials planning and S&OP leaders in make-to-stock or make-to-order businesses, B2B or B2C. This session is for teams who rely on a forecast and want to know where demand-driven planning fits. It’s also for teams already running DDMRP who want to know where forecasting still earns its place.

• The rule for choosing pull or push at each decision point
• Why planning to a volatile customer forecast pushes that volatility onto your suppliers, and how DDMRP buffers absorb it
• How to use a forecast to size buffers ahead of peak season
• How to set initial stock for a new product launch and switch it to pull once consumption is reliable
• How to stress test buffers, capacity and mix against what may be coming

Erik Bush

EVP, Internal Operations, Algo

Wally Leasure

VP Développement Commercial, Amériques