AI-Powered Sales Forecasting in Manufacturing: American Biltrite

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The Challenge of Sales Forecasting in Manufacturing

Sales forecasting in the manufacturing sector remains a challenging task. Demand cycles are irregular, the number of product SKUs is growing, and procurement decisions are often based on the intuition of sales teams. American Biltrite, an industrial manufacturer operating in Quebec, turned to Explor.ai to structure this decision-making process using artificial intelligence. The goal was to anticipate demand earlier, adjust inventory levels accordingly, and reduce both stockouts and overstocking.

AI Approach Applied to American Biltrite's Historical Data

Explorai developed an advanced sales forecasting model capable of predicting demand by week, warehouse, and SKU. The model also integrated relevant external data, such as the Material Bank and Product Manufacturing Index. The approach was progressive—starting with a gradient boosting model, then evolving to quantile regression and deep quantile regression to increase the granularity and accuracy of forecasts.

"We' ve shown that we're capable of being successful in an innovation project! It was done on budget and on time with our partner Explorai ".

- David Fagnan - Vice President, American Biltrite

Results on inventory management and procurement

To support a smooth transition and rapid adoption, Explorai implemented a complete infrastructure. This included a mirror database, a minimalist web interface for viewing forecasts, and a secure API to integrate these forecasts into American Biltrite’s internal systems. The focus was on accessibility—giving managers a clear, real-time view of sales trends through easy-to-use tools.

Immediate benefits and prospects for continuous improvement

The model has already improved inventory management and reduced operational costs associated with surpluses and shortages. With the infrastructure in place, future steps include integrating new external variables that influence demand and enhancing links with internal tools to further automate decision-making.

This project positions American Biltrite at the forefront of inventory management optimization through artificial intelligence and advanced predictive modeling.