Supply Chain & Inventory Planning
A forecast is only useful if it changes what you order. We connect demand to inventory policy, service levels and supply plans, from launch stock to long-range capacity, without overstocking.
Life Sciences
Pharma supply decisions are made months or years ahead, against shelf life, batch sizes and long lead times. We connect the demand forecast to channel inventory, safety stock and long-range capacity, with supply plans that run three to ten years out.
What we factor in
- Wholesaler weeks on hand
- Shelf life
- Batch and campaign sizes
- Lead times
- Specialty distribution
Channel inventory
Wholesaler weeks on hand, 852/867
We track wholesaler and distributor weeks on hand from 852 and 867 data against fee-for-service and inventory management agreement limits, and plan shipments so channel stock stays within them.
What it gives you: Keep channel inventory inside agreed limits and avoid quarter-end loading.
Expiry-aware planning
Shelf life, FEFO and write-off risk
We plan production and stock levels against remaining shelf life, first-expired-first-out rules and customer minimum dating, flagging lots at risk of expiry while there's still time to redeploy them.
What it gives you: Cut expiry write-offs without risking supply to patients.
Batch-aware safety stock
Campaign manufacturing and long lead times
Safety stock and reorder points account for batch and campaign sizes, release testing time and long API and fill-finish lead times, rather than formulas that assume continuous production.
What it gives you: Hold the stock your manufacturing reality requires, and no more.
Allocation under constraint
Supply allocation rules during shortages
When supply is short, we model allocation rules by customer, channel and market, testing how each option affects patients on therapy, contracts and revenue before the rules are applied.
What it gives you: Protect patients already on therapy and make shortage decisions you can defend.
Long-range supply and capacity
3–10 year supply plans
We extend the demand forecast into 3–10 year supply plans covering API, drug product and packaging capacity, so manufacturing capacity and supplier commitments match the long-range plan.
What it gives you: Commit to capacity and supplier contracts years ahead with demand risk understood.
Specialty and cold-chain networks
Specialty pharmacy, distributors and limited distribution
For specialty and cold-chain products in limited distribution networks, we plan inventory by specialty pharmacy and distributor, with shipping lanes, temperature control and small, high-value volumes built in.
What it gives you: Keep high-value product where patients need it, without excess sitting in the network.
Consumer Goods & Retail
Every SKU and location needs enough stock to meet demand without tying up cash. We set inventory policy from measured forecast error and anchor replenishment to what shoppers actually buy at the shelf.
What we factor in
- Forecast error
- Service-level targets
- Point-of-sale demand
- Promotions and seasonality
- Distribution center network
Safety stock from forecast error
Service-level targets
We set safety stock and reorder points by item and location from measured forecast error and lead-time variability, against service-level targets tied to margin rather than rules of thumb.
What it gives you: Hold less inventory for the same service, or better service for the same stock.
POS-driven replenishment
Collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR)
Replenishment anchored to store point-of-sale data aligns your orders with the retailer's sell-through, so both sides plan from one shared forecast, cutting promotional stockouts and improving inventory turns.
What it gives you: Share one forecast with your retail partner and replenish to real demand.
Promotion and seasonal builds
Pre-builds and promotion stock
We plan inventory builds ahead of promotions, holidays and seasonal peaks from forecast lift and production lead times, then plan the sell-down so leftover stock doesn't linger after the event.
What it gives you: Have stock on shelf for the event without excess afterward.
Slow movers and spare parts
Croston's method
Items that sell in irregular bursts with many zero weeks break standard methods. Croston's method forecasts demand size and interval separately, giving realistic stock levels for spare parts and the long tail.
What it gives you: Stop overstocking the tail while still covering the orders that come.
Distribution center allocation
Multi-echelon allocation
We plan how much stock to hold at plants, distribution centers and stores together rather than one location at a time, positioning safety stock where it protects service at the lowest total cost.
What it gives you: Lower network inventory while keeping the right stock close to demand.
Inventory health
Turns, excess and obsolete, recoverable inventory
We track turns, weeks of supply, excess and obsolete stock and stockouts by item and location, and size how much inventory can be released without hurting service.
What it gives you: Free up cash tied in excess stock and act before items go obsolete.
Related case studies
Samsung and Best Buy: collaborative retail replenishment
Samsung implemented a Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) framework with Best Buy in partnership with RoadMap Technologies, shifting from shipment-based forecasting to consumption-based planning and reducing supply chain volatility across high-revenue retail accounts.
CPFR framework · Best Buy (Fortune 100)Enterprise Forecasting for Walmart
At the peak of the home entertainment market, RoadMap Technologies partnered with Walmart to optimize shelf space allocation and replenishment across the Home Entertainment division using cluster-based demand forecasting and economic/demographic store segmentation.
Cluster-based demand planning & shelf space optimizationGenentech: oncology and specialty therapy planning
Genentech partnered with RoadMap Technologies to unify short-term operational demand forecasts with long-range strategic supply plans across oncology, neurology, and transplant anti-infective therapy portfolios, eliminating the planning disconnects that drove inventory imbalances and capital misallocation.
0–24 mo. + 3–10 yr. · 3 therapy portfolios
Frequently asked questions
What is supply chain & inventory planning?
Supply chain and inventory planning links the demand forecast to what you actually make, stock and ship, through safety stock, service levels, replenishment and capacity. RoadMap Technologies helps life science and consumer goods teams by connecting statistical forecasts to inventory policy and supply plans, so stock protects service and margin without tying up cash.
How do you set safety stock levels?
From measured forecast error and lead-time variability for each item and location, against a service-level target. That replaces rules of thumb like two weeks of cover, which overstock steady items and understock volatile ones.
How do you plan inventory for products with a short shelf life?
We plan against remaining shelf life and customer minimum dating, not just quantity. Lots at risk of expiry are flagged early enough to redeploy them, and safety stock is balanced against the cost of write-offs.
What is CPFR?
Collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment is a process where a supplier and a retailer share one forecast, usually anchored to store point-of-sale data, and plan orders together. In our Samsung × Best Buy work it reduced promotional stockouts and improved inventory turns.
How do you forecast spare parts and slow-moving items?
With Croston's method, which forecasts the size of each order and the interval between orders separately. It suits items with many zero periods, where standard methods either overreact to each sale or forecast a little demand every week.
Start with a pilot
Measurable outcomes agreed upfront, a live model on your data in about two weeks, and the ROI proven before you scale.