Sorting through spreadsheets is a painful reality for many CFOs and stakeholders. Even if your planners took the steps to create visual dashboards, you might be stuck with a headache, worrying if human error lurks hidden in the data. Worse still is the stress that comes with not knowing if new opportunities (or risks that could be avoided) remain hidden in numbers, unexcavated by AI-powered demand planning analytics.
Although spreadsheet-based data-driven forecasting has always been a key part of processes, the supply chain volatility of 2025 has made AI-driven demand planning critical.
With the right inventory planning solution in place, SMBs can rest assured that their reports contain fewer human errors and provide insightful recommendations that stakeholders can use to make smarter, more informed decisions.
Quick insights for CFOs
- AI-powered forecasting reduces human errors and identifies hidden opportunities in your data.
- Finance leaders can gain boardroom confidence. Budget with precision using demand signals validated by more than a decade of global supply chain data.
- Tariff volatility demands agility. 63% of SMBs are already using AI forecasting to navigate uncertainty and protect their bottom lines.
- Real-time data analysis quantifies financial risks before they materialize, transforming reactive planning into a proactive strategy.
- Enterprise-grade security and ERP integration deliver insights without incurring IT overhead or exposing data vulnerabilities.
Forecasts are a CFO’s biggest risk (and opportunity)
Forecasts are the opposite of audits. Instead of showcasing what was, they guide what comes next. This defining feature makes them both the biggest opportunity and the biggest risk for SMBs. Inaccurate forecasts can leave cash flow tied up in over-ordered, slow-moving stock that planners thought would sell quickly this quarter. This is bigger than just an operations problem, however.
Vague forecasts make it nearly impossible to set budgets for upcoming periods accurately. And stakeholders are left analyzing every move without the right data to back up their decisions.
Accurate forecasting, on the other hand, means fewer stock-outs, less excess inventory filling warehouses unnecessarily, and stronger margins. With analysis and recommendations curated by purpose-built AI and validated by on-the-job planners, CFOs can gain confidence in the boardroom when their budgets are tied to accurate demand signals. Balancing human expertise with advanced demand planning solutions puts them in a position to lead with authority and keep customers happy, even in the most turbulent times.
The volatility era: Tariffs, disruption, and financial uncertainty
The volatility of 2024 isn’t an anecdote stakeholders are throwing around to justify narrow margins due to tariffs, customer satisfaction drops, and late shipments. In the 2025 state of the supply chain benchmark report, research conducted by Netstock on 2,400 customers worldwide, the actual numbers became incredibly clear:
- Tariffs hit nearly every SMB with 63% reporting direct operational impacts.
- 44% of those facing tariff disruptions choose to absorb the costs, paying higher premiums to maintain their purchasing levels.
- Offshore supplier reliance decreased, indicating SMBs intended to strengthen their domestic supply chain while uncertainty persisted.
- Despite this, lead time variability remained a top challenge for 68% of respondents.
The ongoing disruption in supply chains caused by tariffs and the financial uncertainty tied to changing consumer behavior has amplified forecasting risk. This is, once again, based on real-world data.
Despite compounding pressures from the previous year, 46% of SMBs reported service levels above 90% in 2025 – an increase of nearly 50% compared to 2024. Additionally, 93% of these businesses were able to launch or expand product lines despite challenges.
This demonstrates that businesses can still survive and grow despite uncontrollable variables. The key is proper preparation, in-depth analysis, and enhanced forecasting with AI.
Improving cash flow and navigating market volatility
Learn how smart CFOs are managing inventory and cash pressures in our recent webinar.
What AI demand planning delivers for CFOs
AI demand planning is a process of using artificial intelligence to forecast future product and customer demands more accurately than traditional methods. It works by analyzing multiple data sources (sales history, economic indicators, promotional calendars, and more) to identify complex patterns that human planners easily overlook.
One of the biggest benefits of AI-driven demand planning is that, unlike static spreadsheets, it adapts in real-time as new data becomes available. This enables the algorithms to learn and refine their predictions continually. This feature positions the technology to handle seasonality and complex external factors more dynamically.
In the boardroom, these benefits are realized through:
- Improved forecast accuracy that protects budgets and margins.
- Scenario modeling capabilities enable teams to quantify financial risks before they occur.
- Proactive insights empower capital allocation with confidence.
- Faster reporting to fuel agile decision-making.
- Improved business protection through data security measures not possible with traditional spreadsheets.
Free download
Learn more about AI inventory forecasting, why it matters, and how to bring this critical advantage to your business with our free guide.
Data-driven forecasting vs. guesswork: Financial impacts side by side
If you’re one of the 52% of SMBs that have yet to make the switch to AI demand planning, the decision can be made clearer by directly comparing this new way of forecasting with traditional spreadsheets.
| Financial Impact | AI Demand Planning | Static Spreadsheets |
| Forecast accuracy | Continuously improving through real-time learning; adapts to volatility | Static assumptions; relies on historical averages that miss emerging patterns |
| Working capital efficiency | Optimized inventory levels free up cash; reduces excess stock filling warehouses unnecessarily | Capital tied up in slow-moving stock or lost to stock-outs |
| Budget confidence | Scenario modeling quantifies risks before commitment | Budget variances create boardroom surprises that erode stakeholder trust |
| Response time | Real-time alerts enable proactive adjustments within hours | Manual analysis delays decisions by days or weeks |
| Margin protection | Prevents costly rush orders and markdowns through accurate demand signals | Reactive purchasing drives premium freight |
| Risk management | Identifies supply chain vulnerabilities before they impact cash flow. | Discovers problems only after financial damages occur |
Why traditional forecasting is no longer enough
Nearly half (49%) of SMBs realize future investment in AI is crucial to their business. Those who have already invested recognize traditional methods are no longer enough, driving 63% to report utilizing AI for forecasting.
As shown, spreadsheets have their limits. Many rely on manual data entry that opens the door for human error, and most require manual analysis to transform them into actual insights businesses can use. Static ERP reports are great at showing what happened in the past, but during unprecedented times, being able to look forward is much more valuable. Plus, while gut instinct can get planners a long way, there are always biases, assumptions, and honest mistakes that can lead decision-makers astray when the time comes to use insights and make adjustments.
Without AI-powered demand planning, the future for SMBs is largely uncertain, leaving CFOs reacting to surprises that may have costly financial consequences: excess capital tied up in stock, unexpected shortages, and missed revenue.
Making the move to an AI-powered solution gives executive teams insights like never before.
See what comprehensive visibility can do for your business performance:
Netstock: The CFO’s partner in predictive planning
Netstock bridges the gaps left by spreadsheets with advanced, purpose-built AI trained on over 15 years of data from businesses worldwide.
With features ranging from sales and operations planning and inventory ordering to demand planning and supplier performance insights, it is a solution that benefits both planners and finance leaders who need actionable insights tied directly to the business’s bottom line.
- Predictive analytics are accessible in easy-to-read reports. Additionally, scenario modeling enables rapid testing of variables, allowing you to make informed decisions with confidence, regardless of potential outcomes.
- Seamless integration with 60+ leading ERPs elevates operations without increasing IT overhead.
- CFO-ready dashboards and KPIs excavate the most important points from a mountain of data, making the impact of strategic decisions clear.
- Instead of relying on historic precedents, AI-powered forecasting and recommendations showcase clear ROI by helping leaders make smarter capital allocations based on real supply chain and consumer behavior.
These benefits aren’t hypotheticals. Surface Art, a tile distribution company based in Seattle, Washington, stands as a real-world example of what happens when SMBs leave static forecasting in the past and embrace AI-powered demand planning. They improved their product availability by 5-10%, resulting in higher sales, improved decision-making by leveraging AI recommendations, and optimized cash flow by reducing excess purchases thanks to AI recommendations.
Watch how Netstock helps Surface Art strategically reduce its inventory
From risk to resilience: Why AI demand planning is a strategic investment
The cost of inaccurate forecasting can be existential. Every percentage point of forecast error cascades into working capital pressure, margin erosion, and strategic uncertainty.
AI demand planning transforms forecasting from a necessary risk into a competitive advantage. Businesses like Rutland UK prove the financial impact is both rapid and substantial: £1 million in inventory savings in under a year, stock turns improved from 1.9 to 2.5, and fill rates climbed from 92% to 97%. These aren’t marginal gains; They’re fundamental improvements in how capital works within the business, showcasing how AI forecasting delivers ROI.
That leaves SMBs waiting to adopt with one question: Can your organization afford to operate without AI while your competition gains ground?
By anticipating demand changes, communicating proactively with vendors, and adapting production schedules based on predictive intelligence rather than hindsight, forward-thinking CFOs are building resilience that protects profitability regardless of external shocks.
