Inventory & Production Planning

Know what to buy, what to make, and what's at risk

demandFlow gives planners one daily view of inventory health, material shortages, production readiness, and replenishment actions. It works alongside your ERP to turn transactions into planning decisions.

Buffer Status Board
Dark Red
3 +1
Critical
Red
12
Protect
Yellow
38 -4
Replenish
Green
178
Healthy
Blue
17
Overstocked
Total
248
Show All
PartDescriptionBufferNFPSOHAction
RM-1042Aluminium Rod 12mm
DRROrder 450
PM-0087SS Bearing Assembly
RYOrder 120
FG-2201Motor Housing Unit
YGOrder 80
RM-0563Copper Wire 2.5mm
GGOK

Spreadsheet planning breaks down at scale

As your product range and supplier base grow, manual planning becomes a liability. Planners spend their days firefighting instead of optimising.

Stockouts and excess inventory

Without dynamic buffers, you either tie up capital in safety stock or face stockouts that cost you customers. The average mid-market manufacturer loses 3-5% of revenue to this imbalance.

Reactive, not proactive

Planners discover problems only when a customer escalates or the production line stops. By then, recovery is expensive and relationships are damaged.

Spreadsheet fragility

Critical decisions hinge on formulas that break silently, files that don't sync, and knowledge locked in one planner's head. When that person is on leave, planning stops.

ERP MRP falling short

Your ERP handles transactions well, but its forecast-driven MRP module demands perfect data and produces nervous schedules. The result: planners override it and go back to spreadsheets.

Everything you need to plan with confidence

01

Daily Planning Board

See every part's health at a glance. Red means act now, green means you're covered. Multiple planning engines -- DDMRP buffers, Min-Max, or manual -- on one board.

  • Five-zone colour system (Dark Red to Blue) for instant prioritisation
  • Filter by location, part type, supplier, or planning engine
  • Planning view (Net Flow Position) and execution view (Stock on Hand) side by side
  • Replenishment recommendations with planner approve and reject
Dark Red
3
Red
12
Yellow
38
Green
178
Blue
17
RM-1042
DR
PM-0087
Y
FG-2201
G
02

Production Scenario

Enter your weekly or monthly production plan and see every component shortage before committing. No live orders created, no data modified -- pure what-if analysis.

  • Enter finished-good codes and quantities or upload a CSV
  • Full BOM explosion down to purchased components
  • Shows on-hand + on-order vs required, with shortages highlighted
  • Supplier lead times and suggested order dates
  • Export the full shortage report to Excel
Shortage Report -- Week 34
ComponentRequiredAvailableShortageSupplierOrder By
RM-10421,200750-450Bharat Metals12 Aug
PM-0087300180-120Precision Parts08 Aug
RM-0563800950OKExcel Copper--
CM-0214600200-400Star Fasteners10 Aug
03

Kit Readiness and Exception Management

See whether customer orders can be fulfilled before releasing work orders. When problems surface, track them from detection through escalation to resolution.

  • Kit readiness percentage on every MTO order and draft work order
  • Blocking component identified instantly
  • Exception lifecycle: new, acknowledged, escalated, resolved
  • Auto-escalation rules for unactioned alerts
  • Owner assignment and aging visibility
Kit Readiness
SO-4521
100%Ready
SO-4518
72%Partial
SO-4515
31%Blocked
Exceptions
RM-1042 stockout -- escalated to Procurement3d open
PM-0087 below red zone -- acknowledged by Rahul1d open
04

Savings and Effectiveness Report

Measure what demand-driven planning actually saved you. The built-in backtest engine compares your actual inventory history against simulated buffer zones and quantifies the difference.

  • Inventory turns, days on hand, and fill rate
  • Stockout days and emergency purchases avoided
  • Working capital released calculation
  • Adjustable assumptions: carrying cost, lost-sale margin, expedite premium
  • Export full report to CSV
Savings Summary -- Sample Data
Inventory Turns
6.2x
vs 4.1x before
Fill Rate
97.3%
vs 91.8% before
Stockout Days
12
vs 47 before
Capital Released
Rs 1.8 Cr
excess inventory
Emergency POs
23
avoided
Days on Hand
42
vs 68 before
05

Connected Supply Chain

Customer dispatch schedules flow into demand calculations, demand drives buffer sizing, buffers generate replenishment signals, and purchase orders close the loop with goods receipts. Every step is linked.

  • Dispatch schedule intake from customers with review and approval workflow
  • Blended demand calculation using historical consumption and forecasts
  • Multi-location inventory with transfer orders and priority share
  • Track every customer order from receipt through component allocation to dispatch
Dispatch Schedule
ADU Calculation
Buffer Sizing
Replenishment
Purchase Orders
Goods Receipt

Up and running in three steps

No complex ERP migration. Import your existing data and start seeing results from day one.

1

Import your data

Upload your parts, suppliers, and demand history via guided CSV wizards. Every row is validated before import -- no bad data gets through.

2

Configure your buffers

Set buffer profiles based on your item types, lead times, and demand variability. demandFlow calculates the red, yellow, and green zones automatically.

3

Plan daily in minutes

Open your Buffer Status Board each morning. Red items need action. Yellow items need watching. Green means you're covered. Act on recommendations, track execution.

demandFlow complements your ERP, it doesn't replace it

Your ERP is good at transactions -- invoices, purchase orders, goods receipts. demandFlow is good at decisions -- what to order, when, and how much. They work together.

Traditional MRP uses forecasts to push schedules. When demand is volatile or data is imperfect, MRP produces nervous plans that planners learn to ignore. DDMRP uses real demand signals and strategic buffers to pull replenishment only when needed.

Traditional MRP
demandFlow (DDMRP)
Forecast-driven push
Demand-driven pull
Requires perfect data
Works with real-world data
Nervous, volatile schedules
Stable, buffer-based signals
One-size-fits-all safety stock
Dynamic buffers per part
Exception list with 500 items
Prioritised action list by zone

The results manufacturers see with demandFlow

Demand-driven planning consistently delivers measurable improvements across working capital, service levels, and planner productivity.

15-25%
Lower inventory investment

Dynamic buffers right-size your stock. For a manufacturer carrying Rs 10 crore in inventory, that means Rs 1.5-2.5 crore freed up as working capital.

98%+
Achievable fill rate

Strategic buffer positioning means you carry stock where it matters, not everywhere. Fill rates go up, not just stock levels.

70%
Less time expediting

Automated alerts and prioritised action lists replace frantic phone calls and email chains. Planners shift from firefighting to forward planning.

1 day
To first actionable insight

Import your data in the morning, see buffer status by afternoon. No six-month implementation projects or armies of consultants.

Based on Demand Driven Institute benchmarks across 200+ DDMRP implementations worldwide.
demandFlow includes a built-in Savings and Effectiveness Report that calculates these metrics against your actual historical data -- so you can verify impact, not just trust benchmarks.

Designed for manufacturers ready to move beyond spreadsheets

Whether you make products, distribute components, or manage outsourced production, demandFlow adapts to your planning needs.

Discrete Manufacturing

Manage multi-level BOMs with buffers at strategic decoupling points. Test production plans against current stock before committing.

Distribution and Trading

Multi-location inventory visibility with transfer orders and priority share allocation across warehouses and depots.

Make-to-Order and Job Work

Kit readiness checks before WO release, demand pegging from customer order to component, and full MTO lifecycle tracking.

Multi-Plant Coordination

Coordinate inventory across plants and warehouses. Priority share allocates constrained stock based on buffer penetration. Transfer orders move material where it is needed.

Frequently asked questions

Do we need to replace our ERP?
No. demandFlow works alongside your existing ERP (Tally, SAP B1, Microsoft Dynamics, or any system). Export data from your ERP, import into demandFlow via CSV, and use both tools for what they do best -- transactions in your ERP, planning decisions in demandFlow.
Our data is messy. Can we still use this?
Yes. You don't need perfect data to start. Our import wizards validate every row and flag issues before anything enters the system. Start with the data you have -- even partial demand history and approximate lead times give you better visibility than a spreadsheet.
How long does implementation take?
Most manufacturers see their first planning board results within a day of importing data. Full operational use typically follows within 1-2 weeks as you configure planning engines (DDMRP buffers, Min-Max, or manual) and train planners. There is no multi-month implementation project.
What does it cost?
Pricing depends on the number of parts and locations you manage. We offer plans suitable for mid-market manufacturers. Contact us for a quote tailored to your setup -- no obligation.
Where is our data stored?
Your data is hosted securely on multi-region cloud infrastructure. Each organisation's data is fully isolated -- no cross-tenant access. All connections are encrypted, and we maintain complete audit trails of every change.
Can we test production plans without affecting live data?
Yes. The Production Scenario screen runs what-if analysis without creating any orders or modifying buffers. Enter your finished-good quantities, see component shortages instantly, and export the report to Excel. Nothing is saved -- you can run as many scenarios as you need.

See your inventory health in one screen

Book a 30-minute walkthrough. We'll load your data and show you your buffer status in real time. No slides, no sales pitch -- just your supply chain, visualised.

What happens next:
1. Fill in the form and we'll reach out within one business day.
2. We'll set up a call to understand your current planning process.
3. We'll demo demandFlow with data relevant to your business.

Request a Demo

We'll get back to you within one business day.