Rocky Brands, a leading designer and marketer of footwear and apparel, partnered with Quisitive to transform its demand planning capabilities by adopting AI‑driven, continuous forecasting. 

Facing rising SKU complexity, long overseas lead times, and volatile consumer demand, Rocky Brands needed to move beyond aggregated, monthly forecasting cycles that could no longer keep pace with the realities of footwear planning. Each style expands into multiple size and width combinations, making SKU‑ and customer‑level precision essential to protecting service levels and margins. 

Selecting Quisitive, a three-time Board Partner of the Year, Rocky Brands implemented Board Demand Planning and Board Foresight & Signals, enabling a shift from static planning to continuous, signal‑validated forecasting. The new approach integrates external macroeconomic indicators, such as consumer confidence, employment trends, and discretionary spending, validated through generative AI explainability to strengthen forecasting confidence and speed. 

As a result, Rocky Brands reduced data preparation time by 80–90%, moving from weeks of manual effort to near real‑time availability. Planning teams now re‑forecast on demand instead of waiting for monthly cycles, allowing buying and inventory decisions to be adjusted while commitments still matter. 

“The hesitation around changing planning systems was bigger than the reality,” said Michael Harper, VP of Supply Chain Planning at Rocky Brands. “Once we started, the value was clear. The combination of Board’s platform and Quisitive’s execution made it easy for us to move fast and stay focused on decisions.” 

Beyond speed, the transformation improved forecast defensibility and governance through versioning, audit trails, and forecast locking – giving executives greater confidence in plans tied directly to service, inventory, and financial outcomes. 

“Rocky Brands needed faster, more confident demand decisions in an increasingly volatile market,” said Matt Meiners, Senior Account Executive at Quisitive. “By partnering with Quisitive and Board, they moved from manual, Excel‑driven processes to continuous, signal‑driven forecasting that delivered measurable value quickly, with minimal IT disruption.” 

The initiative lays the groundwork for Integrated Business Planning (IBP) by continuously aligning demand signals with supply commitments and financial targets. Planning at Rocky Brands has shifted from a reporting exercise to a control system for inventory risk, service performance, and working capital. 

To learn more, read the full Rocky Brands case study and explore how Quisitive is leveraging AI‑driven signals to reshape forecast confidence in complex consumer goods environments.