Does demand sensing replace Sales and Operations Planning?

No — demand sensing strengthens S&OP, it does not replace it. S&OP is a cross-functional process that aligns commercial, operational, and financial plans over a medium-to-long-term horizon. Demand sensing operates on a much shorter horizon and feeds into that process with more accurate short-term signals.

In practice, demand sensing improves the quality of the demand input that enters the S&OP cycle. When the short-term picture is more accurate, S&OP discussions can focus on strategic decisions and exceptions rather than debating whether the numbers are right. Flowlity is designed with this integration in mind — demand sensing feeds directly into the S&OP workflow, shifting the conversation from "is the forecast accurate?" to "what do we do about the deviations we've detected?".