Using the Demand Forecasting Dashboard

Forecast store performance, optimize staffing and inventory, and track trends across your locations.

Overview

The Demand Forecasting Dashboard in Almanac helps store operations teams make better decisions around staffing, inventory, and overall store-level performance. It offers a fast, clear view of demand across your network, and lets you benchmark performance against external benchmarks like market trends or local competitors.

This dashboard is particularly useful for operations reporting, identifying shifts in demand, and making day-to-day or seasonal planning decisions.

Accessing the Demand Forecasting Dashboard

You can access the Demand Forecasting Dashboard in two ways:

1. If you’ve never created a dashboard before:
   Go to the Dashboard tab. You’ll be prompted to select a use case — choose Demand Forecasting.
   
   
   
   
   
2. If you’ve already created dashboards:
   Click My Dashboards in the top right and select Create New Dashboard from the dropdown. Choose Demand Forecasting when prompted.
   
   
   

There’s no pre-setup required — the dashboard will load immediately.

Once open, you can:

• Name your dashboard
• Apply filters
• Change the comparison period and date range
• Add benchmarks using the Comparison Menu

Using the Dashboard Header

The top section of the dashboard helps you customize your view with:

• Store Filter: Narrow the view by region, brand segment, or store type
• Date Range Picker: Select the analysis window (e.g., last 90 days)
• Comparison Period: Set year-on-year or custom periods
• Comparison Menu: Add benchmarks for market, competitors, or center-based performance

Key Metrics Displayed

1. Demand Categories

Stores are grouped into:

• Growing Demand – Growth above a threshold (default: +5%)
• Stable Demand – Growth between +5% and -5%
• Falling Demand – Decline beyond a threshold (default: -5%)

These thresholds are editable and will update groupings dynamically.

2. Store Demand Table

This table includes:

• Store address and details
• Visits this period (e.g., “Columbia Sportswear’s visits”)
• Visits from the previous period
• Store visit growth (%)

3. Comparison Tools

Use the Comparison Menu to add benchmarks against:

• Market Spend – Track against local sales and transactions
• Competitive Set – Compare to nearby retailers
• Center – Compare to the store’s retail environment (e.g., mall)
  
  

 

Using Filters and Customization

You can:

• Filter stores using the top-level filter
• Adjust thresholds for demand categories
• Add comparisons via the menu
• Export data as a CSV for external use

Example Use Case

A McDonald’s operations lead notices declining traffic in select stores. By opening the Demand Forecasting Dashboard, they can:

• Quickly see which stores are in the “Falling Demand” category
• Compare against competitors or center averages
• Reassign staff or adjust inventory accordingly
• Export the data for inclusion in internal reports