The ongoing judgement of a skilled demand planner, without the hire.
- Monthly review of forecast accuracy and every override decision made
- Your rules refined as suppliers, categories and conditions change
- Direct access when a judgement call needs making
Scoped and set up on your call.
Illustrative. Your report tracks your own accuracy and your own override history.
What this actually is
The role most product businesses actually need covered is not one role. It is demand planning, logistics, forecasting and supplier relationships in a single person, and that person is unusually hard to find. Most founders discover this the expensive way, after a recruiter conversation or a hire that did not work out.
The Intelligence Partner is the alternative. Every month we review what was forecast against what happened, look at every override decision made and whether it was the right call, and refine your rules as your suppliers, categories and market conditions move. Between those reviews you have direct access when something needs deciding before the next cycle.
It compounds. The longer this runs, the more context sits behind each judgement call, and context is the part nobody can start with, whatever they charge.
What's included
- Monthly review of forecast accuracy against actual outcomes
- Every override decision reviewed, and the reasoning recorded
- Your rules refined as conditions change, rather than left to age
- Direct access for judgement calls between monthly reviews
- Your forecast continued on cadence, where we produce it for you
- Active KPI tracking and a monthly report archive you can go back to
- Competitor benchmarking against the brands you compete with
- Priority response times, agreed with you rather than assumed
- A free first month audit if you come straight to this tier
- Monthly reporting issued on a fixed date, not when we get to it
How it runs, start to finish
Call
We agree scope, cadence and which delivery mode fits how you actually work.
Month one
Your audit, at no extra cost, if you have not already had one. It gives the first month something real to work from.
Monthly cycle
Accuracy reviewed, overrides reviewed, rules refined, report issued.
Between cycles
Direct access when something needs a decision before the next review comes round.
Is this right for you?
- You have tried to hire for this and found the role barely exists as one person.
- You have a system in place and need it kept current rather than left to drift.
- You want the judgement layer on a retainer rather than on the payroll.
Practical questions
What is the commitment?
Three months minimum, then it continues month to month. The minimum exists because the first month goes largely on understanding how your business actually behaves, and judging the value on that month alone would be unfair to both sides. By month three there is enough history behind the reviews for you to judge it properly.
How do I cancel?
After the three month minimum, give notice before your next renewal date and it stops. There is no exit fee and no final invoice waiting for you afterwards. Anything built during the engagement stays yours, so cancelling does not take your protocol away with it.
Do I need the Audit first?
No. If you come straight to this tier, your first month includes the audit at no extra cost, because the monthly reviews need something real to work from rather than a blank sheet. That is £500 of work built into the tier rather than bolted on as an upsell later.
What data do you need each month?
A refreshed sales and stock export on whatever cadence we agree, usually monthly. We tell you the format once and it stays the same every time, so it becomes a five minute job for whoever pulls it rather than a recurring chore. If your system can export on a schedule, better still, and we will help you set that up.
How quickly do you respond between reviews?
You get priority response times, agreed with you on the call rather than assumed on your behalf. In practice that means the same working day for anything affecting an order that is about to go out, and within two working days for everything else. If we are going to be slower than that in a given week, you hear it from us in advance.
Put the judgement layer on retainer.
Reviewed monthly, refined as your conditions change, with direct access when a call needs making.
Scoped and set up on your call.