"When our team saw the Planalytics planner information, they commented that it adds real science to our market selection and timing process."
Which regions will see a spike in demand due to weather?
Should I purchase energy at current prices or wait?
How can I factor weather's influence on consumer buying behavior into marketing or promotional decisions?
THE BUSINESS PROBLEM
Weather presents a number of challenges for manufacturers of both consumer and industrial products. For food, beverage and other consumer packaged goods (CPG) businesses, demand levels and sales can change on a whim as weather patterns shift. Snow storms increase the need for soup and snow blowers; heat waves drive demand higher for products like air conditioners, bottled water and sandals; etc. The same is true for manufacturers of weather impacted non-consumables like power equipment, apparel, automotive and outdoor products. For producers of industrial goods, weather impacts the demand side as well as the supply side (agricultural-based raw materials, oil and gas, etc.). For energy-intensive operations, electric and natural gas markets are often dramatically affected by the weather.
It is easy to make costly mistakes when weather is not factored into business plans or decisions. When weather takes an unexpected turn, companies are often caught off guard and suffer the consequences of not have enough (or having too much) product in areas where these demand shifts are happening. However, businesses with weather informed strategies can adjust production, distribution, marketing and commodity risk management activities to either capitalize on opportunities created by favorable weather or mitigate the costs associated with unfavorable weather.
PLANALYTICS SOLUTION
Planalytics Business Weather Intelligence offers solutions for manufacturers in the following areas:
In preparation for the upcoming season, Planalytics helps manufacturers determine how to increase revenue without increasing inventory by applying proper forecast models in the planning process.
Weather can differ from region to region, causing consumer demands to shift. Severe weather conditions can bring about a need for manufacturers to effectively time and distribute products to the right location.
Once you have devised a proper method to distribute your inventory, how can you be sure that unexpected weather events won’t cause a change in consumer behavior? Insufficient supplies can leave you and your customers/distributors at odds when the demand arises. Planalytics provides guidance and risk management services to assure that your planning and marketing decisions will be the right ones, which will result in higher returns
Planalytics can assist with validating your sales results and answer the following questions: Has adjusting production and inventory based on weather forecasting helped to create a stronger sales period? How heavily has weather impacted control over my business?
Planalytics EnergyBuyer is a price analysis platform that provides "buy" or "wait" suggestions for commodities such as natural gas or heating oil.
