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Supply Planning - Real-life examples & FAQs

Learn how to use the Supply Planning tab in real life (examples & FAQs)

Amar Sujith avatar
Written by Amar Sujith
Updated over 2 weeks ago

Scenario 1 – “I realised I don’t need to order this product at all.”

You have items you’re unsure about ordering next year. Using the Supply tab, you discover that the recommended orders are zero for the entire period.


​How to do this?

  1. Go to Demand and make sure the plan for the product is correct

  2. Go to Supply

  3. Filter down to:

    • The supplier or product(s) you’re unsure about

  4. Look at:

    • Recommended orders (units) by month

    • Stock end of month (units) / days of stock

What to look for:

  • If the Recommended orders are 0 for the whole period

  • And you still have sufficient stock all year
    → You might not need to place any new orders for that product next year.

Outcome:

  • Clear decision: “No orders needed next year for this SKU.”

  • This reduces overstock and frees up cash.

Scenario 2 – Validating budget & negotiating with suppliers

Use the Supply tab to support annual budget planning and supplier negotiations.

Budget validation:

  1. Apply the supplier filter on the Supply tab

  2. Look at the next 12 months

    • Recommended orders value per month

    • Deliveries value per month

  3. Sum them (or export if needed) to confirm:

    • Does this fit within our yearly purchasing budget?

    • Are there months where cash outlay is too high?

Supplier negotiation:

  1. Filter by supplier

  2. Show:

    • Recommended orders (units) for the year

    • Number of deliveries across the year

    • Total value (approximate)

  3. Share this with your supplier to say:

    • “We’re planning to order ~50,000 units from you next year.”

    • “We’d like to split this into ~10 deliveries.”

    • “Can we improve payment terms, shipping terms, or pricing if we commit to this?”

Outcome:

  • Suppliers see you as a long-term committed partner, not just one PO at a time

  • You potentially improve:

    • Payment terms

    • Shipment schedules

    • Unit pricing


FAQs

Q: Why does the Supply tab feel overwhelming at first?
A: By default, we show all metrics, so nothing is hidden from you. Once you’re familiar with the concepts, use Manage View to hide what you don’t need and create simpler views (e.g, Planner vs Finance).

Q: What does “At-risk plan” actually mean again?
A: It’s the part of your demand plan you can only fulfil by using safety stock. It’s achievable, but it means your buffer is being consumed.

Q: Where can I see stock value instead of just units?
A: On the Supply tab, you can show the Deliveries value and the Recommended orders value. For full stock valuation, check our inventory value report here.

Q: Does this work with bundles/kits?
A: Yes, but the Supply tab shows components, not bundles. The total plan units in Supply are the number of components needed to fulfil the demand of your bundles.

Q: Can Prediko handle my complex MOQs (e.g., different by color/factory)?
A: Not fully yet. For branded goods and simple MOQs, the recommendations usually work perfectly. For highly complex manufacturing MOQs (e.g,. MOQs per color + size + supplier), you may still need to:

  • Export recommendations

  • Apply your custom MOQ rules in Excel

  • Then create POs back in Prediko

We’re exploring ways to better support these scenarios.

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