How to use it
- 1. Shape the demandDrag the sliders per month, or use the presets. Everything re-plans instantly.
- 2. Tune the costsHiring, firing, holding, backlog, overtime and wages decide which strategy wins.
- 3. Build your planSet the workforce for each month in the "Your plan" card and chase both benchmarks.
- 4. Read the diagnosisThe winner badge names the cost driver that decided it.
Demand & costs
Monthly demand (units)
Costs
Each worker makes 100 units/month; overtime can add up to 15% of regular capacity when the plan is short.
Demand (navy bars) vs each strategy's monthly production capacity: Level (teal), Chase (red), Your plan (purple).
Try these experiments
- On seasonal demand make Level beat Chase, then invert the result by raising just the holding cost.
- Build a hybrid plan (small workforce steps, overtime absorbing peaks) that beats both benchmarks by >10% on the spiky pattern.
- Drop the backlog cost until deliberately running stockouts becomes the rational plan - then ask what that assumption means for customer service.
About this tool
The concept
Aggregate planning sets workforce and production at the family level, months ahead - trading inventory, hiring and service against each other.
How it works
Level keeps a constant workforce (inventory swings); Chase resizes the workforce every month (hire/fire costs). Both are simulated with identical cost inputs.
Winning strategy
Neither pure strategy is best in general - the cost structure decides, and a hybrid with modest workforce steps plus overtime usually wins on spiky demand.
Background: Aggregate planning · S&OP