FreshCart is a regional grocery delivery company operating in 12 U.S. metro areas with annual revenue of $180M. The company offers same-day delivery across fresh produce, pantry staples, and household goods, and it competes against large national players as well as local grocers with in-house delivery. FreshCart has grown quickly over the last two years, but its forecasting and demand planning processes remain largely spreadsheet-based and managed separately by category managers and operations teams.
You are the incoming Head of Strategy. The CEO wants to improve forecasting and demand planning before the company expands into 4 additional metro areas next year. Poor forecasts are creating two business problems: frequent stockouts in high-velocity SKUs, which hurt customer retention, and over-ordering in perishable categories, which drives waste and margin pressure. The leadership team must decide what demand planning approach to implement over the next 6 months and how much to invest in people, process, and systems. The decision matters now because the expansion plan assumes better in-stock rates and tighter working capital management.
| Metric | Current State |
|---|---|
| Annual revenue | $180M |
| Gross margin | 24% |
| Forecast accuracy (weekly, SKU-category level) | 68% |
| Stockout rate on top 500 SKUs | 9.5% |
| Perishable waste as % of perishables revenue | 6.8% |
| Planned expansion | 4 new metros in 12 months |
Additional facts:
As Head of Strategy, prepare a recommendation for the executive team.