> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.spherecast.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Demand profiles

> Build reusable seasonality curves — twelve monthly percentages that reshape a forecast across the year while keeping the annual total unchanged.

## What this page is for

A **demand profile** is a reusable **seasonality curve**: twelve monthly percentages, January through December, that describe how an annual demand quantity is spread across the year. The twelve months **must add up to 100%** — this is enforced, so you can't save a profile that doesn't total exactly 100%.

Use a profile to reshape a flat, level forecast into a seasonal one, or to impose a seasonal shape you already know from experience. A profile **redistributes** an annual total across the months — it does **not** change the total. Each year's yearly quantity stays the same; only its month-by-month distribution changes.

## What you set up

| Field         | What it does                                                 |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Name          | Identifies the profile so you can reuse it.                  |
| Description   | Optional note about when to use the profile.                 |
| 12-month grid | A percentage for each month, Jan–Dec, that must sum to 100%. |
| Total readout | A live tally that turns valid at exactly 100%.               |

## How it works

You enter a percentage for each month. Two helpers make this quick:

* **Fill empty months** — spreads the remaining percentage evenly across any months you left blank.
* **Click a month label** — sets that month to "100% minus everything else," a fast way to make the numbers balance.

The **Total** readout updates as you type and turns valid only when the twelve months hit exactly **100%**.

### Applying a profile

Once saved, you apply a profile to a chosen **product and channel**, starting from an **"Apply from"** month. You can use it to reshape either:

* the **Baseline** forecast, or
* a specific **S\&OP line** (Sales & Operations Planning line). See [S\&OP lines](/s-and-op-lines).

The annual total for the affected period is preserved; the profile simply moves quantity between months according to your percentages.

### Deleting a profile

Deleting a profile **keeps** the values it has already reshaped — those numbers stay put. It only drops the **active-profile link**, so future changes won't be reshaped by that profile.

## Step by step: create and apply a profile

1. Create a new profile and give it a **Name** (and an optional **Description**).
2. Enter percentages in the **12-month grid**, or use **Fill empty months** to distribute the remainder.
3. Confirm the **Total** reads exactly **100%**, then save.
4. Choose the **product and channel** to apply it to, and pick an **"Apply from"** month.
5. Decide whether it reshapes the **Baseline** or a specific **S\&OP line**, then apply.

## Example

You sell a patio product that peaks in summer. You build a profile called **"Summer peak"** and load the warm months:

| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 3%  | 3%  | 5%  | 8%  | 12% | 18% | 18% | 15% | 8%  | 5%  | 3%  | 2%  |

The **Total** reads 100%, so the profile saves. Applied to an annual quantity of 12,000 units, the flat 1,000-per-month forecast is reshaped so June and July each carry about 2,160 units while January carries about 360 — but the year still totals 12,000.

> **Tip:** Keep launch timing and seasonal shape separate. When a product *starts or stops* selling in a channel, set its launch or phase-out date on the [Channels](/channels) page; use a demand profile only for the *shape* of demand across the year. See also [New products](/guide/demand-planning/new-products) and [S\&OP lines](/s-and-op-lines).