Logistics Intelligence Series | Module 6 of 6

Order-volume forecasting:
What your customers will order next month

A multi-target LSTM learns from 43 customer time series simultaneously - and forecasts order volume 4 weeks ahead. The result: proactive capacity planning instead of reactive dispatch.

Model scenario - fictional data

This module is part of a six-part worked example about a fictional mid-sized logistics company (150 trucks, 43 regular customers). All figures, datasets, model metrics and euro amounts are fully simulated - they illustrate the methodology and the order of magnitude of the achievable effect. They are not results of real clients and not a performance promise. What values are achievable on your real data is established only in a pilot project.

01 The problem - reactive dispatch erodes margin

Why "something will turn up" is not capacity planning

A mid-sized logistics company typically plans day by day: orders arrive, trucks are dispatched. Shortfalls are covered from the spot market (expensive). Surplus capacity sits idle in the yard (deadweight cost). Both hurt.

The paradox: the data needed to forecast already exists. Every customer has an ordering pattern - seasonal swings, weekday effects, monthly rhythms. Customer A orders 3 full truckloads every Tuesday. Customer B doubles volume in Q4. Your ERP knows this. Your dispatch team does not.

78% of volume is forecastable

The remaining 22% are genuine spot orders. But forecasting the 78% alone enables internal reallocation instead of spot-market buying at the peak.

Order history
Decomposition
LSTM-Forecast
Capacity plan
Dispo-Alert

02 Data foundation - 24 months of order history

43 customers, 52,000 orders, each with volume, timestamp and lane

▸ Example values - method illustration, not a performed analysis
Aufträge: 52.340
Kunden: 43
Zeitraum: 2023-01-02 bis 2024-12-29
Ø Aufträge/Woche: 503
52.340
Orders (2 years)
503
Avg orders / week
43
Regular customers
±22%
Weekly volatility

03 Decomposition - the hidden rhythms

Seasonality, trend and weekday patterns examined separately

Total fleet order volume - 104 weeks + trend
↳ The Q4 peak

Total volume rises 38% in Q4 versus Q2. But not all customers follow this pattern. K-007 (Building materials) peaks in Q2 (construction season); K-031 (E-commerce) surges in November/December. A single fleet model is insufficient - individual forecasts per customer are required.

Order distribution by weekday (all customers)
Seasonality by industry sector - quarterly comparison

04 LSTM forecast - individual prediction per customer

A recurrent network that learns 43 time series simultaneously

We train a multi-target LSTM: a single model that processes the order history of all 43 customers as parallel time series. The advantage over 43 separate models: it learns cross-industry patterns (e.g. "when Automotive declines, Chemicals rises with a 2-week lag").

▸ Example values - method illustration, not a performed analysis
Modell-Parameter: 148,452
Input:  12 Wochen × 51 Features (43 Kunden + 8 Kontext)
Output: 4 Wochen × 43 Kunden-Prognosen
18%
Fleet MAPE (4-week)
0.891
R² score
22%
Fleet MAPE (week 4)
12%
Fleet MAPE (week 1)
↳ Accuracy by horizon

The fleet-level forecast hits next week within ±12%. Per individual customer the spread remains wider: 12-28% MAPE, driven by the random noise of small order counts.

Forecast vs. actual - total volume (last 16 weeks, test set)
MAPE by customer - 12-28% per customer

The most difficult customers for the model are small e-commerce accounts with high volatility. The best forecasts are achieved for Automotive and Pharma - industries with stable supply chains and predictable rhythms.

05 Customer forecasts - the 4-week outlook

What the weekly capacity report for dispatch would look like

K-031 · E-Commerce · avg. 38 orders/week
↗ Seasonal peak expected
+42% in 4 weeks
Forecast w45-48: 48 → 52 → 54 → 54 orders
Driver: Black Friday run-up + Christmas season. Identical pattern to prior year (±3 orders).
Capacity requirement: +6 truck-days/week additional from w46.
K-007 · Building materials · avg. 28 orders/week
↘ Seasonal decline
-31% in 4 weeks
Forecast w45-48: 24 → 22 → 19 → 19 orders
Driver: End of construction season, falling temperatures. Use freed capacity for e-commerce.
Capacity requirement: -4 truck-days/week from w46. Reallocation to K-031 possible.
K-015 · Pharma · avg. 22 orders/week
→ Stable
±3% in 4 weeks
Forecast w45-48: 22 → 21 → 23 → 22 orders
Driver: Contract-bound volume, low seasonality.
Capacity requirement: No change required. Most reliable planning basis in the fleet.
K-022 · Automotive · avg. 35 orders/week
↗ Trend increase
+18% in 4 weeks
Forecast w45-48: 38 → 40 → 41 → 42 orders
Driver: New model launch at OEM. Not seasonal - permanent increase for 8 weeks.
Capacity requirement: +3 truck-days/week permanently. Review subcontractor contract.
↳ The dispatch effect

The forecast cards reveal the decisive advantage: K-007 releases capacity that K-031 needs - in exactly the same weeks. Without a forecast, the dispatcher would buy short-term spot capacity for K-031 while K-007's trucks sit idle in the yard. With the forecast: internal reallocation instead of spot-market buying at the peak.

06 Business impact - from forecast to margin

One lever: smoothing spot peaks and idle capacity through better forecasting

€208.800
Total savings / year
0,8%
of the cost base - spot peaks and idle capacity smoothed (assumption)
CategoryAmount/yearMechanismConfidence
Smoothing of spot peaks and idle capacity€208.8000.8% of the €26.1m total cost base (assumption; mechanism anchor: McKinsey - AI forecasts reduce errors by 20-50%)Medium

07 The full picture - all 6 modules combined

What the Logistics Intelligence Series means for your fleet

Each module solves a concrete problem. Together they form an operating system for data-driven logistics - built on data you already possess.

Modul 1
€132.300
Dwell Time
Modul 2
€98.820
Tyres
Modul 3
€53.900
Drivers
Modul 4
€243.000
Empty runs
Modul 5
€161.688
Diesel
Modul 6
€208.800
Forecasting
Total potential: €898,508 / year

A model scenario for a 150-truck fleet. The basis: data you already have. Not a single additional customer required.

Savings potential by module - full overview
↳ The message

Around €900,000 is locked in data already sitting in your systems - untapped. It takes no new ERP and no additional sensors - just the right questions asked of the numbers you already have. That is what we do.

08 Where your forecast goes from here

From proof of concept to live system - the roadmap

You have seen what is possible. The next step is a pilot project with your real data. No months-long concept papers - we deliver results step by step.

① Data workshop (1 day)

We review your telematics, ERP and HR exports together. Which modules are ready to deploy immediately? Where is the highest leverage?

② Pilot

2 modules run on your real data. Deliverable: concrete euro value, validated dashboard, implementation plan.

③ Rollout

Integration into your existing systems. Automated reports, alerts, dashboards. Training for dispatch and fleet management.

All 6 modules: AI in logistics