32Soft - Forecasting—What Does the Future Hold?

Webinar

You likely already do, or need to, forecast at least some of your demand. But are you using the most effective technique for your enterprise, your market and your product mix? Do you accurately enough forecast demand so you can respond to customers without tying up needed cash with extra inventory?

Watch this webinar with Don Lindsey if you need to better understand the art of forecasting and how it is used in QAD. You’ll learn …

• basic principles and techniques of forecasting
• factors that influence demand and basic demand patterns
• principles of data collection
• impact of seasonality on forecasting
• sources and types of forecast error
• tips and tools about how to use QAD to help you with the forecasting process

Find out about Sales Forecast Data Loaders
Related Webinars:

Using Simulation Forecasts in QAD
MRP: Best Practices for Best Results
The Extraordinary Value of MRP

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Questions from the webinar

	You mentioned testing the forecast. Can you elaborate a little on that?
Most companies have a test database, as a sandbox so to speak, for testing or validation of business processes. Since different forecasting techniques can yield different forecast results, it is important to understand which value of forecasted demand is going to drive your ERP/ MRP explosion. Regression analysis vs. exponential smoothing will yield different results for the same set of demand history. You need to understand this before you implement it in your production database.
	Do you find the native QAD tools adequate, other than the data entry?
22.1 is somewhat rudimentary. It assumes you will do forecasting outside of QAD in a spreadsheet and then drive that into QAD, either manually or through the 32 Soft Sales Forecast Data Loaders. The 22.7 Forecast Simulation menu offers many enhancements over the standard 22.1 menu, such as the ability to build a forecast model and to use other forecasting techniques. You can then copy these forecasting models into 22.1 for an item or family of items.
	Are changes in the forecast retained anywhere?
Yes in the 22.7.1 menu. You can create a forecast ID for a simulated budget or an alternate forecast for a specific quarter or month. These are maintained in QAD. You simply have to use the copy formation in 22.7.11 Simulation To Simulation Copy, 22.7.12 Single Item Simulation Copy or 22.7.13 Simulation To Summarized Forecast to drive the particular forecast model into the 22.1 Forecast Maintenance.
	Is there a report that shows sales vs. forecast over a period of time?
22.7 Forecast Worksheet Maintenance is the best method to compare Forecast to Actual Sales.

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Forecasting—What Does the Future Hold?

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