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Basics of the Planning and Forecasting add-on

Understand the basics of Katana's planning and forecasting to optimize inventory management and production schedules.

Michael De Giovanni avatar
Written by Michael De Giovanni
Updated this week

Optimize your inventory management and production planning with Katana’s Planning and Forecasting add-on. It helps you anticipate demand, streamline production schedules, and maintain optimal stock levels with real-time insights.


Accessing the Add-on

To get started:

  1. Navigate to the Plan screen via the top menu.

    Screenshot highlighting the Plan screen

  2. You’ll find two tabs:

    • Planning

      Screenshot showing the Planning tab inside the plan screen

    • Replenishment

      Screenshot showing the Replenishment tab inside the plan screen

These work together to help you manage inventory needs and restocking activities efficiently.


Planning: Anticipate inventory needs

The Planning tab provides a forecast of your inventory levels across locations. It factors in:

  • Sales orders

  • Purchase orders

  • Manufacturing orders

  • Outsourced purchase orders

This gives you a projected view of stock availability, helping you avoid shortages and overstocking.


Replenishment: Automate your restocking

The Replenishment tab generates automated order suggestions based on:

You'll see:

  • Suggested order qty – based on MOQ or forecasted demand

  • Suggested order by – based on item lead time

    Screenshot highlighting the suggested order qty and suggested order by columns in the Replenishment tab

Supply details: Fine-tune planning per item

You can configure item-specific supply details:

Screenshot highlighting the Supply details tab inside a product card
  1. Open an item card.

  2. Click on the Supply details tab.

Here, you can:

  • Define MOQs

  • Set lead times

  • Influence planning and replenishment suggestions


Summary

Katana's Planning and Forecasting add-on helps you:

  • Plan production based on real-time data

  • Forecast inventory requirements accurately

  • Automate replenishment suggestions with supplier constraints in mind

With this add-on, you can stay ahead of demand and reduce manual work across your supply chain.


Your feedback is invaluable. Let us know your thoughts on this article or anything in Katana you'd like to see improved: [email protected]

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