Supply Chain

- 4 min read

Connecting to the Customer: The Next Era of Planning in CPG

Enterprise planning in CPG is undergoing a fundamental shift—from internal cycles to connected decision-making that reflects what’s actually happening in the market. As consumers change faster, signals become noisier, and channels multiply, growth now depends on a planning approach that actively connects the customer to the business—not just through data, but through action.

Remember When Sell-Out Data Was the Breakthrough? 

For decades, CPG companies planned based on what they shipped. Forecasts began with sell-in volumes and cascaded downstream through siloed processes and assumptions. 

Then came sell-out data—and with it, a breakthrough. Planners could finally see real consumption. Forecasting shifted from internal guesswork to external demand. 

But in today’s environment, even that’s not enough. 

According to McKinsey’s State of the Consumer 2025: 

  • 79% of global consumers are trading down in some categories—but 1 in 3 are also splurging 
  • Gen Z is projected to add $8.9 trillion to the global economy by 2035 
  • Over 90% of US and Chinese consumers shop online-only each month 
  • In one week, 40% of US, UK, and German consumers use grocery delivery services 

Planning must evolve again—beyond visibility, toward direct connection. To win, CPG leaders must plan as close to the customer as they sell. 

 

Demand and Supply Planning—Stronger Together 

In legacy models, demand and supply planning ran in sequence. Demand teams set the forecast; supply teams reacted. The result? Mismatches, delays, and missed opportunities. 

Today’s demand planning must be: 

  • Signal-led: continuously refreshed with POS, ecommerce, macro trends, promos, and sentiment 
  • Collaborative: shared across commercial, finance, and supply teams 
  • Responsive: designed to adapt daily—not monthly 

Supply planning must evolve in tandem: 

  • Simulating scenarios in real time 
  • Balancing cost, service, and margin 
  • Making trade-offs visible before execution 

And critically: Improving OTIF (On-Time In-Full) is no longer just an operations metric—it’s a planning outcome. 
By connecting demand and supply in a shared model, teams reduce stockouts, avoid overproduction, and improve customer experience across every channel. 

With Board, these functions operate in lockstep—driven by shared signals, assumptions, and goals. 

D2C Has Redefined Planning Complexity 

D2C is no longer optional—it’s strategic. By 2025, global D2C ecommerce in CPG will exceed $213 billion, growing at 15%+ annually. 

But its growth has exposed deep planning challenges: 

  • Demand volatility triggered by campaign timing, not historical trends 
  • Promo and pricing conflicts across direct and retail channels 
  • Fulfillment pressures that disrupt both cost and service 

Board brings D2C into the heart of the enterprise plan—ensuring customer expectations are met, margin is protected, and the entire value chain is aligned in advance. 

 

Commercial Planning: Aligning Demand with What’s Deliverable 

As demand becomes more fragmented, commercial planning has to do more than set sales targets. It must be tightly connected to supply, finance, and execution. 

That means: 

  • Simulating trade-offs between price, volume, and margin 
  • Testing promotional plans for feasibility and impact 
  • Ensuring that every campaign is backed by available stock and fulfillment readiness 

With Board, commercial teams don’t operate in isolation. They collaborate in real time with finance, supply, and operations—so trade spend is smarter, execution is aligned, and performance is more predictable. 

 

Where Leading CPGs Are Investing Now 

Across our global customer base, four priority areas define the shift to connected customer planning: 

  1. Signal-Led Forecasting

Forecasts continuously adapt to real-time market signals—POS, promotion, sentiment, and more. 

  1. Integrated Demand and Supply Planning

Planning functions operate in sync—balancing accuracy, service, cost, and OTIF performance from day one. 

  1. Channel-Agnostic Planning

D2C, retail, and wholesale are planned as one ecosystem—with visibility across inventory, pricing, and fulfillment. 

  1. Agile Commercial Planning

Promotional scenarios are tested and aligned rapidly with supply constraints and financial targets to avoid margin erosion. 

 

Final Thought 

Forecasting used to be about better guesses. Then it became about better data. 
Now it’s about better connection—connecting demand to supply, strategy to execution, and every decision to what the customer and market dictates.