Tony Thrasher

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 Instead of reacting to outdated forecasts, they can make timely decisions that reduce costs, prevent stockouts, and improve customer satisfaction.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 Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit in Denver, Scott Luton sat down with Sean Elliott, CEO of ToolsGroup, to discuss why uncertainty is no longer something supply chain leaders should fear—and how the right technology can turn volatility into advantage. Elliott brings decades of experience across supply chain execution and planning, a background that shapes his pragmatic leadership philosophy. As he noted, bad plans can cripple even the best execution environments, just as poor execution can undermine well-crafted plans. ToolsGroup’s mission sits squarely at that intersection.   What Makes ToolsGroup Different Elliott described ToolsGroup as one of the few truly probabilistic planning providers in the market. While many vendors claim probabilistic capabilities, most stop at probabilistic forecasting. ToolsGroup goes further by embedding probabilistic thinking across the full breadth of its planning technology. The company’s belief is simple but powerful: uncertainty is not the enemy—it’s an asset. Rather than chasing forecast accuracy for its own sake, ToolsGroup focuses on business outcomes. What planning organizations really care about, Elliott argued, is having the right inventory in the right place at the right time to satisfy customers. Customer satisfaction—driven by availability, pricing, and service—is the ultimate goal. Probabilistic planning enables organizations to…