S&OP, Demand Planning & Forecasting worked example

Supply Demand Gap with average daily unit consumption of 600 units / day: a worked example

This worked example runs the supply demand gap numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: average daily unit consumption of 600 units / day instead of the typical 1,200 units / day. Estimate supply demand gap for sandop, demand planning and forecasting using production-ready inputs so teams can plan replenishment and safety stock using actual usage and lead time.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Average daily unit consumption: 600 units / day (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 1,200)
  • Replenishment lead time: 85 days (held at the documented default)
  • Safety stock cushion: 1.1 units (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Supply demand gap cycle stock = supply demand gap daily usage × supply demand gap lead time.
  • Protected days of supply works out to 6.42 days at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Unprotected days works out to 7.06 days at these inputs.
  • Inventory works out to 600 pieces at these inputs.
  • Daily usage works out to 85 pieces / day at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where average daily unit consumption sits at 1,200 units / day and the headline result is 12.83 days, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 6.42 days.
  • Use it during weekly S&OP reviews or whenever a supplier lead time changes, to check that on-hand stock still bridges the replenishment window. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Protected days of supply: 6.42 days (headline result)
  • Unprotected days: 7.06 days
  • Inventory: 600 pieces
  • Daily usage: 85 pieces / day

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Supply Demand Gap calculator, set average daily unit consumption to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.