The impact of point-of-sale data in demand planning in the South African clothing retail industry

Abstract

Abstract: In modern days’ dynamic consumer markets, supply chains need to be value driven and consumer oriented. Demand planning allows supply chain members to focus on the consumer and create optimal value. In demand planning, point-of-sale (POS) data is an essential input to the process thereof; however, literature suggests that POS-based demand planning is often overlooked by demand planners in practice. The main purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which South African clothing retailers use POS data in demand planning. This study followed the grounded theory approach based on the collection of qualitative data. Findings suggest that companies within the clothing retail industry make considerable use of POS data as a fundamental input factor in the demand planning process. However, this study also found that POS data cannot be applied in the planning for all types of clothing products, and that there are variables other than POS data that form a critical part of the demand planning process