Ask your key customers for Q1 forecasts with AI

Turn your customer list and lead times into short forecast request emails and a simple tracking sheet so January doesn't start with surprise orders.

The problem

Shops plan steel, material and labor for January in December, often with no idea what their big customers will order. When a large order shows up after the holidays, lead times slip, overtime piles up and material has to be rushed at higher prices.

Step by step

1. 1Pull last year's first-quarter orders for your top 10–20 customers from your ERP or sales history.
2. 2Write down your current lead times and any material price or availability changes you already know about.
3. 3Paste the customer types (not names) and lead times into the prompt below to get a forecast request email, a follow-up and a simple tracking sheet layout.
4. 4Personalize each email with that customer's own history, and send them in early December.
5. 5Log the answers in the sheet, compare them to last year, and share the totals with purchasing and scheduling.

Copy-paste prompt

I run a [type of shop, e.g., metal fabrication job shop] that makes [products]. Our current lead time is [weeks]. Known changes for next year: [e.g., steel prices up, a new machine coming online in February, holiday shutdown dates]. I want to ask my top customers, mostly [customer types, e.g., equipment builders and contractors], for their January–March order forecast. Write: (1) a short, friendly email asking for a rough Q1 forecast by part or product line, explaining it helps us hold capacity and material for them; (2) a polite follow-up for anyone who doesn't answer in a week; (3) column headings for a simple tracking sheet that compares their forecast to last year's Q1 orders. Don't promise prices or delivery dates.

Review AI output before using it. Don’t paste confidential, customer or patient data into tools your company hasn’t approved.

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