Plan vs Actual: Wholesale

Outline: The Forecast vs Actual: Wholesale explore likely compares planned (forecasted) wholesale shipments or revenue to actual wholesale outcomes, on a weekly basis, possibly by product or channel【26†Description (incomplete)】. It helps evaluate forecasting accuracy in the wholesale segment, similar to the retail one but for wholesale.

Given the description snippet is cut (“Comparison of planned versus actual ”【26†Description】 – presumably planned vs actual wholesale shipments or orders), I assume:

• It deals with wholesale (shipments to B2B customers or POs).

• Probably product-level or maybe account-level (by distributor or major wholesale partner).

• Like retail, it would include Forecast, Actual, Variance.

What’s likely included:

• Forecasted wholesale volume (units or revenue).

• Actual wholesale shipped (units or revenue).

• Possibly by product and by week.

• Possibly also by major wholesale channel (Domestic vs International or by distributor).

• Variance metrics.

Use Case:

• Check how well we predicted our wholesale orders/shipments. Under- or over-forecasting wholesale can have big inventory implications.

• Adjust production or inventory planning accordingly if consistently off.

Needs Input:

1. Are forecasts for wholesale part of same forecasting tool? Probably yes.

2. At what granularity? Product-level by maybe distributor or region or just total wholesale? The CSV Team says Team: Forecast for both Retail and Wholesale, so likely similar granularity (product-level weekly).

3. Possibly consider lead times – wholesale might have different cadence, but likely just straightforward compare shipments.

Questions for Daasity Team (Forecast vs Actual: Wholesale):

• Forecast Source & Granularity: Similar to retail – where does the wholesale forecast data come from, and is it at SKU x wholesale channel level?

• Actual Data Basis: Is actual referring to actual shipments (from ERP) or actual distributor sales? (Likely shipments, since wholesale revenue is recognized at shipment).

• Dimensions: Do we break down by wholesale partner or is it aggregated total wholesale in this explore?

• Variance Measures: Are we calculating forecast accuracy in percent or just absolute difference in this explore?

• Intended Workflow: Once variances are identified, is there an associated action (like informing production adjustments)? Perhaps beyond scope, but if any guidance provided.

• Context Example: e.g., “We forecast shipping 1000 units to Distributor A in Q3 but only shipped 800 – this explore would show that variance.” – is that the right interpretation?

• Relation to Forecast vs Actual: Retail: Should users be looking at these together (one for sell-in, one for sell-out) to get full picture? We might mention that if relevant.