Most product-based businesses think they’re forecasting. In reality, they’re firefighting.

The data backs it up: according to Cin7’s 2025 State of Inventory Intelligence report, 55% of inventory professionals cite rising operational costs as their biggest headache, and teams lose 16 hours a week syncing data across disconnected systems. Meanwhile, 52% say shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day cause major operational stress.

That’s the hidden cost of disconnected forecasting — wasted time, wasted capital, and wasted opportunity.

If your forecasts in Cin7 Core don’t align with real demand, it’s time to rethink your setup.

The forecasting bottleneck: why product businesses still struggle with inventory planning

For scaling product businesses, every order cycle exposes the same cracks: too much data, not enough visibility.

You’ve got one team in spreadsheets, another in QuickBooks, and a warehouse that’s always one PO behind.

• 55% of businesses say operational costs are their top challenge.

• 40% struggle to keep up with demand.

• 49% are considering reshoring manufacturing because their current systems can’t keep up with complexity.

The result? Manual decision-making disguised as "demand planning." And every disconnected decision bleeds margin.

What the data says about inventory inefficiency in 2025

Cin7’s global survey of 530 operations professionals revealed that most teams spend over $21,000 per employee per year simply syncing data across disconnected tools.

At that scale, inefficiency isn’t an operational nuisance, it’s a structural cost.

Why traditional demand planning methods fail (and what smarter teams do differently)

Manual systems break down because they can’t capture the complexity of modern omnichannel operations: sales spikes, lead-time variability, seasonality, and supplier constraints.

That disconnect leads to:

• Overproduction or overstock

• Last-minute purchasing

• Inflated safety stock

• Poor cash flow visibility

In Cin7’s 2025 report, 50% of companies listed outdated systems as a key growth blocker. Another 42% said their inventory and ecommerce platforms aren’t integrated.

The solution

Unified forecasting and planning, where data flows automatically from sales to purchasing to production, is now a competitive advantage. That’s exactly what Cin7 Core’s Demand Planning feature delivers.

Inside Cin7 Core: how demand planning software really works

At the heart of Cin7 Core's planning engine is ForesightAI: an intelligent forecasting model that learns from your sales history to project future demand.

How it works

ForesightAI analyzes:

• Historical sales

• Seasonal trends

• Product group performance

• Custom growth or decline percentages

From there, it builds forecasts that feed directly into the rest of your operations.

Key forecast models

Cin7 Core lets users select and adjust multiple forecasting approaches, including:

• Moving average: for consistent product demand

• Seasonal index: for products with cyclical sales

• Trend-based: for scaling or declining products

• Manual adjustment: for promotions or one-off events

Each model can be fine-tuned by forecast period, growth rate, and historical range.

The business advantage

The real advantage of Cin7 Core’s demand planning lies in how it connects intelligence to execution. Its AI-driven forecasting engine analyzes historical sales data to predict future demand with precision, reducing the human error and lag that typically come with manual reordering.

Instead of relying on spreadsheets or gut instinct, teams can maintain stock levels that reflect real customer demand, not outdated assumptions.

In Cin7 Core, forecasting doesn’t stop at prediction; it becomes the operational driver for purchasing, production, and fulfillment.

For CFOs and founders, accurate forecasting means more than better stock control, it unlocks strategic cash flow visibility, informs smarter purchasing decisions, and reduces risk across the entire supply chain.

From forecast to fulfillment: how Cin7 Core's MRP turns data into action

Forecasting predicts what you’ll need. MRP ensures you actually have it. In Cin7 Core, demand plans flow directly into the Materials Requirement Planning system, converting forecasts into purchase, transfer, and production orders automatically.

What happens inside Cin7 Core

• Forecasts from ForesightAI feed directly into MRP.

• The MRP module calculates what materials and quantities are required to meet forecasted demand.

• It automatically generates purchase orders, transfer orders, and production runs based on supplier lead times and component availability.

The result is operational clarity: no more guesswork between what’s forecasted and what’s ordered. When MRP is configured correctly, production managers know exactly what components to buy, when to build, and where to ship.

Finance teams gain real-time visibility into purchase commitments, while operations teams eliminate last-minute bottlenecks.

See Cin7’s Location Supply Rules & Transfer Planning documentation for the technical workflow.

The results

Businesses using this workflow move from reactive to proactive operations:

• 57% plan across multiple locations.

• 56% automate replenishment.

• 64% segment products intelligently.

Forecast → MRP → Purchase Order → Production → Delivery — all within one connected ecosystem. See if your forecasts actually power your production:

Inventory planning solutions in Cin7 Core: features that protect margin and cash flow

Inventory optimization isn’t just about avoiding stockouts, it’s about protecting working capital.

How Cin7 Core optimizes stock

• Automated reorder suggestions based on forecasted demand.

• Inventory Velocity Reports that flag when SKUs slow down.

• Multi-location tracking for accurate regional stock balance.

• Dynamic safety stock levels that adjust based on variability and lead times.

The business impact

According to Cin7’s 2025 State of Inventory Intelligence Report, automation isn’t just saving time, it’s redefining how modern inventory teams operate.

Businesses using AI-driven tools report saving an average of 15 hours per week, nearly offsetting the time typically lost to manual data syncing.

The same report found that teams leveraging connected systems like Cin7 Core experience 78% fewer stockouts and 75% less overstock, leading to healthier inventory turnover and reduced carrying costs.

When forecasts align with real replenishment, businesses don’t just optimize, they unlock working capital that was trapped in slow-moving inventory.

The downstream effect is clear: lower holding costs, stronger cash flow, and greater operational liquidity, proof that smarter forecasting directly translates into financial efficiency.

Why accurate demand forecasting depends on implementation, not just software

Of course, none of these results happen automatically. The difference between an accurate forecast and a failing one often comes down to how Cin7 is implemented. Buying software is easy. Configuring it to work for your business is where most teams fail.

The real cost of "default" forecasting setups

Native Cin7 onboarding often sets up basic forecasting and MRP configurations, but without tailoring them to your actual business rhythms. That’s why forecasts go stale or fail to align with supplier cycles.

Common Cin7 forecasting setup mistakes

Even with the right software, a few subtle setup errors can derail accuracy.

Here are three of the most common issues we uncover during audits:

1. Chart of Accounts mapped incorrectly — causes COGS and stock adjustments to post to the wrong accounts.

2. Forecast model misaligned with sales seasonality — leads to inaccurate demand curves and excess or insufficient stock.

3. Missing sync rules between forecasting and MRP — breaks the link between demand plans and production or purchasing schedules.

How expert implementation restores forecast confidence

Software alone doesn’t deliver accurate forecasts, alignment does. That’s where Fiskal Finance comes in. We don’t just configure Cin7; we engineer a forecasting system that mirrors how your business actually operates.

Our implementation process closes the gap between data and decisions:

1. Discovery & Data Review – We audit your historical sales data, SKUs, and lead times to uncover what’s skewing your forecasts.

2. Forecast Model Configuration – We tailor Cin7’s ForesightAI models to your sales rhythms, seasonality, and product mix, no generic templates.

3. MRP Setup & Alignment – We connect forecasts to real purchasing and production workflows so your team knows what to order, when, and where.

4. Testing & Training – We validate the data, simulate real scenarios, and upskill your team to manage forecasting confidently.

5. Continuous Optimization – As your business evolves, we monitor performance and recalibrate models for sustained accuracy and scalability.

Stop guessing. Fix the forecasting gaps holding your operations back:

Freedom of Movement (FOM) was expanding rapidly, from 8 stores toward 30+, but manual planning and disconnected systems couldn’t keep up. Stock-outs, overstocking, and poor visibility made replenishment reactive instead of data-driven.

The action

Fiskal migrated FOM to Cin7 Core and built a unified inventory and replenishment workflow, including:

• Centralised demand planning

• Automated store replenishment

• True multi-location stock visibility

• Rule-based transfers to prevent over/understocking

The result

• Accurate, real-time inventory across all stores

• Automated replenishment that replaced manual guesswork

• Faster store launches with stable operations

• Teams aligned around trusted, unified data

Case study: how Freedom of Movement scaled their inventory with Cin7 Core + Fiskal

“Fiskal configured Cin7 Core to match our growth, not force us into a generic setup.”

— Freedom of Movement

Read the full Freedom of Movement case study.

Across every industry, the message is clear: AI is no longer optional, it’s foundational.

According to Cin7’s 2025 report:

• 87% believe AI will revolutionize inventory management in the next five years.

• 83% say it will lead directly to revenue growth.

• 61% plan to invest in AI within 12 months.

Where product businesses are heading next

Teams that implement AI forecasting now aren’t chasing efficiency, they’re buying time, margin, and scalability. Those who wait will find themselves buried under manual tasks and shrinking profits. Fiskal helps Cin7 users build toward this AI-driven future, implementing forecasting systems that scale as markets evolve.

Talk to a Fiskal Cin7 Forecasting Consultant and start building an AI-driven planning system that scales with you.

The future of inventory intelligence: why AI forecasting & automation are no longer optional

Next steps: how to transform your Cin7 forecast into a competitive advantage

Forecasting is no longer a backend function. It's a growth lever.

What to do next

1. Audit your setup: Identify configuration gaps.

2. Re-align forecasting models: Match them to actual sales cycles.

3. Integrate forecasting → MRP → purchasing: Eliminate handoffs.

4. Measure and iterate: Track forecast accuracy vs. actual demand.

Ready to see what accurate forecasting looks like?

Fiskal Finance helps product businesses turn Cin7 Core from a system into a strategy. Book your Cin7 forecasting audit with us, the Cin7 partner trusted to connect forecasting and MRP into one reliable planning system.

📞 Or call us directly: (954) 415-7895

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