Build a practical supply chain planning plan for [PRODUCTS AND NETWORK]. Planning horizon: [PLANNING HORIZON]. Demand information and assumptions: [DEMAND DATA]. Current supply, inventory, capacity, and constraints: [OPERATING FACTS]. Business priorities and service commitments: [PRIORITIES AND TARGETS]. Start by separating known facts from assumptions and identifying the decision cadence: weekly execution, monthly supply review, and any longer-range capacity decision. Do not fill missing data with invented forecasts, lead times, costs, supplier capabilities, or service levels. Produce: 1. A one-page planning objective with the demand, service, cash, and capacity trade-offs.
2. A planning table by product family or critical SKU: demand signal, supply source, lead time, on-hand inventory, safety-stock status, capacity constraint, and data gap.
3. A prioritized 30/60/90-day action plan with owner, due date, expected outcome, dependency, and escalation trigger.
4. A risk register covering stockout, excess or obsolete inventory, supplier failure, quality, transport, capacity, and forecast error. Rate likelihood and impact from the supplied evidence; mark unknown ratings as “needs assessment.”
5. A weekly operating-review agenda with the metrics, thresholds, decisions, and attendees required.
6. A list of decisions requiring finance, procurement, quality, or executive approval.
Use explicit thresholds where [PRIORITIES AND TARGETS] provides them. Distinguish immediate containment actions from structural fixes. Before answering, check that every proposed action addresses a stated constraint or risk, and flag assumptions that could materially change inventory, service, or cash exposure. Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing.Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [PRODUCTS AND NETWORK] | Describe the product families, suppliers, factories, warehouses, and customer regions in scope. | Three home-cleaning product families; two US suppliers, one contract packer in Ohio, warehouses in Chicago and Dallas, retail customers nationwide. |
| [PLANNING HORIZON] | State the time period and planning cadence, such as the next 13 weeks. | Next 13 weeks, with a weekly supply review and monthly executive S&OP review. |
| [DEMAND DATA] | Paste forecasts, orders, seasonality, promotions, and forecast accuracy information. | Forecast calls for 18,000 units per week in October, rising to 27,000 in November due to a retailer promotion; recent forecast error is plus or minus 18%. |
| [OPERATING FACTS] | Provide inventory, lead times, supplier capacity, production, quality, and logistics constraints. | Supplier A has a 28-day lead time and 20,000 units weekly capacity. Dallas has 9 days of cover. A packaging component has a 6-week lead time. |
| [PRIORITIES AND TARGETS] | State service-level, margin, working-capital, customer, and compliance priorities. | Maintain 96% fill rate for the top retailer, avoid air freight unless approved, and reduce finished-goods inventory by 10% by year-end. |
How to use
- Paste the current plan inputs, including what is unknown rather than estimating it for the model.
- Check the planning table against your ERP, supplier confirmations, and latest demand signal.
- Assign real owners and escalation thresholds before distributing the plan.
- Send this follow-up: “Turn the 30-day actions into a weekly tracker for the next four Mondays, preserving every dependency.”
Variations
Shortage response
Use when a confirmed constraint threatens customer supply.
Create a shortage-response plan for [CONSTRAINED ITEM] affecting [CUSTOMERS OR LOCATIONS]. Facts are [CURRENT FACTS], and allocation rules or contractual commitments are [SERVICE RULES]. Produce a 72-hour containment plan, a 30-day recovery plan, an allocation decision table, customer-communication inputs, and named approvals needed for substitutions, expedites, or allocations. Do not claim inventory, lead time, or customer priority facts not supplied. Flag legal, quality, or contract questions for the appropriate owner. Ask up to 3 questions only if a required input is missing.
S&OP review
Use to prepare a monthly cross-functional planning meeting.
Prepare an S&OP decision pack from [DEMAND PLAN], [SUPPLY PLAN], [INVENTORY POSITION], and [FINANCIAL TARGETS]. Produce a one-page executive summary, the three largest demand-supply gaps, scenarios with stated assumptions, required decisions, and risks if no action is taken. Separate consensus forecast from unconstrained demand and from the approved operating plan. Do not calculate financial impact without source inputs. Flag data conflicts for reconciliation before the meeting. Ask up to 3 questions only if a required input is missing.
Supplier recovery
Use after a supplier quality, delivery, or capacity failure.
Build a supplier recovery plan for [SUPPLIER] and [AFFECTED MATERIALS] using [PERFORMANCE EVIDENCE], [CONTRACT OR QUALITY REQUIREMENTS], and [BUSINESS IMPACT]. Produce immediate containment, root-cause questions, corrective-action milestones, verification evidence, backup-supply options to assess, and escalation dates. Keep supplier allegations tied to evidence and distinguish corrective actions promised by the supplier from actions already verified. Do not provide legal advice or invent contractual remedies. Ask up to 3 questions only if a required input is missing.
Tips
- Plan at the product-family level for executive decisions, then break into SKUs where service risk, shelf life, capacity, or allocation differs materially.
- Do not treat a forecast as a supply commitment; confirm the constrained materials, production slots, and transport capacity behind it.
- An inventory number without its location, usable status, and committed demand can produce a false sense of coverage.
- Set escalation triggers before a shortage occurs, such as projected days of cover below lead time plus a defined buffer.
FAQ
Can AI create a demand forecast from a few notes?
It can organize assumptions and suggest analyses, but a reliable forecast needs actual sales history, causal drivers, and ownership of the forecast method.
What is the difference between S&OP and a weekly supply review?
Weekly reviews manage near-term exceptions and execution. S&OP resolves cross-functional demand, supply, inventory, and financial trade-offs over a longer horizon.
Can I use this for regulated products?
Yes for planning structure, but route quality, traceability, recall, and compliance decisions through qualified internal and regulatory professionals.