Build a Reusable Demand Review Template with Claude

Before building the template, look at your last 2–3 demand review presentations. Note:

• What sections does your S&OP process require?
• What level of detail does your leadership expect?
• What's the typical length? (1 page briefing? 10-slide deck? 15-page report?)
• What's your planning cycle (weekly/monthly)?

Open claude.ai. Start a new conversation:

I'm a demand planner at a [CPG/retail/pharma/manufacturing] company. I run a [monthly/weekly] S&OP demand review. My audience: [VP Supply Chain, Sales Director, CFO, etc.]. The review covers [X categories / X SKUs / X regions].

I want to build a reusable template for the demand review narrative sections — the parts I have to write fresh each cycle, not the charts (which come from our planning system).

My current process takes 3+ hours. Help me design a fill-in-the-blanks template for:
1. Executive Summary (opening slide narrative)
2. Category Performance Commentary (for 3-4 categories)
3. Top Risks and Opportunities (3-4 bullets each)
4. Forecast Assumptions Summary
5. Key Actions and Decisions Required

Ask me questions to understand my specific format needs before designing the template.

What you should see: Claude asks you 4–8 clarifying questions about your process, audience, and format preferences.

Answer specifically. Examples:

• "My executive summary needs to be 3 bullets max — my VP doesn't read long paragraphs"
• "Category commentary follows this pattern: performance vs. plan → primary driver → what we're doing about it"
• "Risks are ranked by probability × impact, with an owner name next to each"

Claude will produce a complete template draft. Read through it carefully. For each section, ask yourself:

• Does this match how I actually talk in our demand review?
• Are the fill-in prompts (the [brackets]) specific enough to remind me of exactly what to put there?
• Is it the right length for my audience?

Refine with follow-up prompts:

• "The executive summary template is too long — condense to 3 bullets maximum"
• "Add a [Supply Risk Implication] field to each category commentary section"
• "The risks section needs an 'owner' and 'by when' field for each risk"

Copy your final template into Google Docs (or Word). Title it "Demand Review Template — [Year]."

Now test it: Fill it in using last month's numbers. Does it work? Does it capture everything? Time yourself — how long did it take vs. your normal process?

Adjust anything that felt awkward or didn't capture what you needed.

At the top of the template, add a checklist of the data you need to gather before you can fill it in:

• Category actuals vs. forecast (from planning system report)
• Top variance drivers (from your exception report)
• Promotional calendar updates (from Marketing)
• Supply constraints this period (from Supply Planning)
• Finance target vs. demand plan gap (from Finance)

Now you know exactly what to pull before sitting down to write.