Demand Forecasting KPIs for Supply Chain Planning

In supply chain management, an inaccurate forecast can lead to costly overstocks or devastating stockouts. Understanding how to measure and analyze your forecasting performance is the key to maintaining a lean, efficient operation. This text-based course guides you from the fundamental definitions of demand planning to the practical application of key performance indicators (KPIs). You will learn how to select, calculate, and interpret the right metrics to evaluate your forecasts and drive continuous improvement in your supply chain. What you'll learn: 1. Understand foundational demand planning concepts and key forecasting terminology. 2. Calculate core accuracy metrics including MAE, MSE, MAPE, and WAPE. 3. Identify and measure forecast bias to prevent systematic over- or under-forecasting. 4. Apply modern tracking signals to detect when a forecasting model is drifting. 5. Analyze KPI data using practical written formulas and step-by-step spreadsheet logic. 6. Implement best practices for reporting forecasting performance to stakeholders. We begin with the core terminology of supply chain planning before diving into step-by-step mathematical breakdowns of each major KPI. Through written scenarios and practical data examples, you will learn how to interpret these metrics to make informed inventory decisions. This course is designed for beginner supply chain analysts, inventory planners, and operations professionals who want to build a solid foundation in forecasting evaluation. No prior statistical background is required. Start reading today to transform raw supply chain data into actionable forecasting insights.