How I Built a Demand Forecasting Data App That Teams Actually Use

I’m Ian Reed and I’m a solutions engineer at Sigma. Before I built my demand forecasting app, I was in the trenches dealing with the same frustrations so many analysts and planners face. Every month, I dreaded the demand planning process. It was a tedious, spreadsheet-driven nightmare—error-prone, manual, and endlessly frustrating. I knew there had to be a better way.

The challenge with demand planning, also called sales and operations planning (S&OP), is that it requires multiple stakeholders from different teams to collaborate. But spreadsheets weren’t built for this level of complexity. I was determined to take that pain point and create something better—a solution that automated the process, eliminated spreadsheet chaos, and gave decision-makers the ability to iterate faster and with confidence.

Building the future: The app development journey

When I set out to build this app on Sigma, I asked myself two questions: What is mission-critical for organizations? And why can’t they do this in their current BI solution? I broke down the elements of the existing process—creating ad hoc scenarios, inputting values, promoting and approving content—and translated them into Sigma’s capabilities.

The key features that made this possible were linked input tables, which allow users to adjust values related to production data, and conditional editing, which enables controlled approval workflows. Users could now create and modify demand planning scenarios in real-time, collaborate seamlessly, and ensure data integrity without worrying about version control. That last part was huge—no more ‘Final_Version_v2_actual_final.xlsx’ files floating around.

Data apps aren’t built in a day.

One of the biggest challenges I faced in development was trying to do everything all at once. Data apps aren’t built in a day. I quickly realized I needed to break the process down into manageable pieces. Instead of tackling the entire workflow at once, I focused on solving one problem at a time, knowing that each step built upon the last. It was like constructing a house—laying a foundation, then adding rooms, ensuring each piece worked together to create a cohesive structure.

Proven results: How this app makes a difference

The benefits of this app are countless. First and foremost, it saves time and increases efficiency. Demand planning is no longer a fragmented, spreadsheet-dependent process. Now, everything is centralized, transparent, and collaborative. Stakeholders can see the same numbers in real-time, eliminating the common problem of executives debating different versions of data instead of focusing on actual business decisions.

Demand planning is no longer a fragmented, spreadsheet-dependent process.

One of the biggest pieces of feedback I’ve received from users is that they’ve been trying to solve this problem for years. Many had resorted to spending six or seven figures on bespoke solutions just to plug into their existing process. Then they see what’s possible with Sigma and realize we built in minutes what they were paying a fortune for elsewhere. That’s the light bulb moment—when they say, “That’s it.”

Beyond the technical capabilities, the biggest impact is on trust. Teams now have confidence in their data because they’re all working from a single, up-to-date source. There’s no second-guessing, no endless email chains tracking down the “right” numbers—just clarity and speed.

Wisdom for builders: Lessons learned

If you’re building your first data app, my advice is simple: start. You don’t need to be a coder or a back-end engineer. If you know your business process inside and out, you already have everything you need. Sigma handles the technical side—you just bring the expertise.

Also, show off your work. The analytics community thrives on collaboration. When you build something, share it. Others will take your idea, add their own spin, and push the innovation further. That’s how this space grows.

When you build something, share it. Others will take your idea, add their own spin, and push the innovation further. That’s how this space grows.

For me, the proudest part of this build was cracking the template creation process. Spreadsheets make duplicating work easy, but they also create a mess of scattered versions. With Sigma, I built a mechanism where users can generate templates on the fly—without losing connection to live data. That’s a game-changer.

Demand forecasting doesn’t have to be a pain point anymore. With the right tools and approach, we can move past outdated processes and into a future where data is dynamic, accessible, and truly empowering. If I could go back and tell past-me anything, it’d be this: the work you’re doing today will save you countless headaches tomorrow. And that’s worth building for.

Go further: Explore the demand forecasting data app

See how Sigma simplifies demand forecasting with real-time collaboration and automation. Explore the data app demo to try it for yourself.