The Demand Sensing Router

A faster forecast cycle can create more planner activity without creating a better decision. You can use Claude to build it, to test whether a fresh signal exists, whether the response window is still open, and whether an operating decision can actually move. For each SKU-location, the workflow reads demand history alongside recent order, POS, promotion, inventory, lead-time, service, lifecycle, and planner context. It then tests regularity, variability, volume and value, signal freshness, and the remaining response window. From there, it recommends one of three lanes: • SENSE FREQUENTLY when a fresh signal can still change replenishment, deployment, allocation, or production • PLAN MONTHLY when the baseline cadence still fits the decision horizon • SPECIAL METHOD / REVIEW when intermittent demand, lifecycle status, or weak evidence makes the choice less straightforward Claude becomes useful here because the method does not need to be reconstructed in every conversation. One worker profiles the demand, one applies the routing policy. A third tries to reject the recommendation when evidence is missing, stale, conflicting, or disconnected from an open decision. The result is not another forecast summary. It is a review package: • the current routing board • a route-change log showing what moved and why • data-quality and validation exceptions • a demand-review brief focused on the decisions still open • a run manifest showing which evidence and policy produced the output The planner still approves the method, cadence, master data, and every system-of-record change. But the meeting can start with the SKUs that changed lanes, failed a check, or still have a decision worth discussing. I have packaged the complete workflow with a four-page field guide, synthetic sample data, completed outputs, the reusable skill, and a one-command safe first run. Download the free Demand Sensing Router Pack here - https://www.tigershetty.com/resources/demand-sensing-router