AI-Driven Demand Forecasting for New Items and Special Buys
Eliminate the guesswork with AI-driven demand forecasting that accurately predicts future performance — even for products with little to no sales history
Forecast the Unpredictable with Precision
Confident Planning for New Items and Special Buys
The introduction of New Products or Special Buys is one of the biggest challenges in Retail Planning. Traditional models rely heavily on past performance to project future demand, but with new or unique items, that data simply doesn’t exist. This lack of history increases the risk of overbuying — leading to excess inventory and markdowns — or underbuying, resulting in lost sales and missed revenue opportunities. To overcome this challenge, our solution analyzes product attributes and category behavior to predict demand with accuracy — before the first unit is sold. The result is a more confident, data-driven approach to planning and purchasing new and unproven items.
Optimize Initial Buy Quantities
Fine-Tune Product Launches
Forecast Demand for New Items
Profile Cluster Builder™ (PCB) and Short Life Cycle Demand Forecaster™ (SLC) are the core applications behind Churchill’s forecasting solution for New Products and Special Buys. Long before the product reaches the shelves, PCB and SLC ensure that new product introductions are tailored to meet the initial customer demand. As sales kick off and data accumulates, SLC reforecasts the demand for all future weeks at the SKU/store level. This empowers the supply chain planners to refine replenishment strategies and ensuring stock levels stay aligned with actual demand.
Key Benefits
Confident Purchasing Decisions for New Items
Eliminate uncertainty in new product launches by leveraging attribute-based forecasting software. With data-backed recommendations for optimal initial buy quantities, you can invest confidently, securing the right inventory levels without overcommitting or risking lost sales.
Adapt to Early Sales Trends
The first few weeks of a new product’s launch can make or break its success. Demand spikes or slow starts can derail inventory plans, leading to costly stock imbalances. Churchill’s cutting-edge AI solution for New Items and Special Buys provides retailers with the right forecasting tools to anticipate changes in consumer demand.
Better Sell-through Strategies for Special Buys
Retail-Specific Features
Whether you’re a Merchandise Planner selecting new products, a Buyer ensuring optimal buy quantities, or a DMM/GMM developing a tops-down financial strategy, our AI-driven forecasting solutions provide the confidence to make data-backed decisions throughout every stage of a product’s lifecycle.
Merchandise Planner
- ✔Assess new product opportunities based on demand forecasts
- ✔Strategize store placement for new items or special buys
- ✔Adjust purchase quantities to balance availability and demand
- ✔Coordinate launch timing to ensure new items align with business priorities
Buyer
- ✔Make confident purchasing decisions and reduce reliance on intuition or guesswork
- ✔Negotiate smarter supplier agreements by using accurate demand projections to secure the right quantities at the best cost
- ✔Minimize financial risks
- ✔Reduce markdown dependency
DMM/GMM
- ✔Oversee end-to-end strategy for launching and scaling New Items and Special Buys across the network
- ✔Ensure distribution agility and inventory readiness to support fast-moving, limited-lifecycle products
- ✔Align merchandising and planning goals with supply chain capabilities to ensure successful execution