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

# How Essence builds a plan

> From shipment history to a forecast, to packaging needs, to a published plan.

## 1. Demand from your own shipments

Essence starts from your Ekos shipment history, dated by when the beer shipped. It sets a recent weekly level for each product and applies seasonal factors learned from past years. Weeks known to be unusual, such as a production gap or a one-off catch-up, are marked on the charts so you can see them.

Liquor-board store sales are a second view of demand. They lag shipments by several weeks, so Essence shows them alongside the forecast rather than mixing them in.

## 2. What you know, on top

The forecast is a starting point. Overrides, promotions and demand events let you add what the history can't know. The order of precedence is fixed and shown on each page: model, then promotion lift, then a week override, then quantity events added on top. Every change keeps its note and author.

## 3. Finished beer first, then packaging

Finished beer in stock covers demand first. The rest needs packaging. Essence works out the cans, lids and outer packs each product needs, uses stock and open orders week by week, and shows where a pack can't be filled and when to order.

## 4. One shared version

Publishing freezes a numbered version so the whole team discusses the same numbers. Later draft changes don't change it.

## What Essence doesn't do (yet)

* It doesn't connect live to Ekos or the liquor board; data is loaded in snapshots.
* It doesn't place purchase orders or track deliveries.
* It doesn't yet plan brewing: tank space, brew days and batch timing are on the way.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.