Dale Wilkinson

Special Guest Blog Post written by Chris Cunnane with InterSystems   In a world defined by rapid market shifts, volatile supply chains, and unpredictable customer behavior, traditional forecasting methods often fall short. Relying primarily on historical data is no longer enough. To stay competitive, organizations are increasingly turning to demand sensing and forecasting, an approach that blends real-time data, advanced analytics, and AI to anticipate demand more accurately and respond faster to change. This shift is not limited to retail or manufacturing. Demand sensing is transforming how organizations across industries plan operations, allocate resources, and improve service levels. Below, we explore key industry use cases where demand sensing is delivering measurable value, and why businesses should care.   Why Demand Sensing Matters Demand sensing moves beyond static historical trends. It incorporates current, high-velocity data signals such as sales transactions, weather patterns, logistics feeds, economic indicators, and even social sentiment to generate short-term demand forecasts that reflect real-world conditions. The benefit is clear. Organizations gain better visibility and responsiveness across procurement, production, inventory, and distribution. Instead of reacting to outdated forecasts, they can make timely decisions that reduce costs, prevent stockouts, and improve customer satisfaction. FMCG, CPG, Retail, & E-Commerce Fast-moving…

At the 2025 Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit in Denver, Scott Luton sat down with Fred Baumann, Senior Industry Principal at Kinaxis, one of the world’s most recognized leaders in supply chain planning and orchestration. Kinaxis has spent over four decades shaping the planning landscape and has been named to the Gartner Leaders Quadrant an extraordinary 11 consecutive times—a testament to its execution strength and long-term vision. Baumann’s role at Kinaxis centers on helping chief supply chain officers and senior leaders shape their strategic transformation roadmaps, quantify value, and build the business cases necessary to achieve breakthrough outcomes.   From Episodic Disruptions to Continuous Turbulence When asked about old and new challenges facing supply chain planning teams, Baumann observed a major shift: disruption is no longer episodic—it’s continuous. Historically, companies faced major disruptions every few years. Today, volatility and constraint-related challenges—whether driven by tariffs, sourcing changes, geopolitical shifts, or supply shortages—are unfolding weekly or even daily. This environment demands a new way of working. The speed of global business is accelerating, and uncertainty is at historic highs. As Baumann noted, organizations must now adjust their supply chains “much faster than they had to even last year.” The shift isn’t only…