What does this skill do?

The Demand and Inventory Planner Skill provides senior-level expertise in demand planning for multi-location retailers. It generates forecasts, calculates safety stock based on variability and service level targets, plans replenishment for promotions and product launches, and evaluates model accuracy under MOQ constraints and changes in lead times.

Multi-Method Demand Forecasting
It automatically selects the optimal method (moving average, Holt-Winters, Croston, causal regression) based on demand patterns and generates forecasts with confidence intervals.
Safety Stock by ABC/XYZ Segment
Calculates safety stock levels adjusted for demand variability and lead time, with a service level that varies by segment (85–97.5%).
Promotional Planning and Product Launches
Estimates promotional sales lift, customer forward-buying, and post-promotion sales dip. Coordinates advance orders and manages the launch of SKUs with no sales history using comparable profiles.
Automatic Alerts and Markdowns
It detects projected shortfalls in A-items, excess inventory > 26 weeks, and bias > ±10%, and recommends seasonal markdowns with margin impact analysis.

Usage examples

📊 BOGO Promotion Forecast
I have a 3-week BOGO promotion on a top-20 SKU with a baseline of 500 units per week. Estimate the sales lift, forward buying, and post-promotion dip, and generate the advance purchase order.
🆕 Launch with no history
I'm going to launch a new SKU with no historical data. Select comparable items from the category and generate an initial forecast with a safety stock and a review frequency.
⚠️ Change in Supplier Deadline
My supplier's lead time increased from 14 to 21 days. Recalculate safety stock, identify SKUs at risk of running out of stock, and suggest actions.
💰 Seasonal Sale
I'm halfway through the season with sell-through at 55% of the target. Please recommend a price reduction, analyze the impact on margins, and provide me with a clearance schedule.

Features

Automatic ABC/XYZ Sorting Segment SKUs by margin (ABC) and coefficient of variation (XYZ) based on seasonally adjusted and promotion-adjusted demand.
Intelligent Selection of Forecasting Methods Apply a moving average, Holt double exponential, Holt-Winters, Croston/SBA, or causal regression based on demand patterns and review triggers.
Calculating Safety Stock with LT Variability Incorporate demand variability and delivery time variability into the formula, adjusted by service segment (85–97.5%).
Purchase orders rounded to MOQ/EOQ Generate suggested orders rounded to case packs and pallet layers, including inventory levels and projected weeks of supply.
Scaling Alerts and Post-Mortems Detects projected breaks, excesses, biases, and service outages. Stores post-mortems of forecasting failures and overrides to maintain actionable edge cases.

Frequently asked questions

Weighted moving average, Holt double exponential, Holt-Winters multiplicative, Croston/SBA for intermittent demand, causal regression for promotions, and analogous profiles for new products. The skill selects the method based on the demand pattern.
Use the formula SS = Z × √(LT_avg × σ_d² + d_avg² × σ_LT²), adjusted by ABC/XYZ segment. The level of service (Z) ranges from 85% (CZ) to 97.5% (AX) depending on value and variability.
Yes, although it is optimized for 40–200 locations. The forecasting and safety stock calculation methods can be applied on any scale.
Re-parameterize the forecasting model when the tracking signal exceeds ±4 for two consecutive periods. The skill will alert you and suggest adjustments.
Demand and Inventory Planner — Retail Inventory Optimization with Claude AI

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