Group seasonal forecasting
Please note: This feature is only available with the advanced forecasting module.
To apply seasonality to items in a seasonal group where seasonality has not been detected based on the item’s own sales history. This is particularly important for customers with a very seasonal business and many young (or new) items.
When selecting the group to use for group seasonal forecasting, select a group where like items will group well together.
The existence of group seasonal factors being used to generate the seasonal forecast on an individual item in a location is shown by the Demand type on the Demand panel (top right) displaying the words Seasonal group.
The seasonal group factors will be used to generate an individual item forecast when:
The item is in a group that is clearly seasonal.
And either:
The item’s limited sales history means that seasonality can’t be detected.
The item has sufficient history but seasonality thresholds have not been met.
Group seasonal profile
Clicking on the words Seasonal group in the Demand panel will display the group seasonal profile used to generate the forecast.
The group seasonal profile is created by:
Aggregating the sales history of all items in the group
Generating a forecast based on the aggregate sales
Identifying the resultant forecast profile as seasonal
The item forecast is created by:
Forecasting the item to get a forecast “level”
Applying the seasonal forecast profile to the item’s “level” if it does not attract a seasonal forecast based on its own sales
The Seasonal Group graphic displays:
The selected group; in this case Purpose
The code and description for the group; in this case Construction: Description for Construction
Charts; showing multiple years of sales history and the forecast for this group
Stats; the row underneath the chart includes the following:
Year-on-Year; a view of the seasonal profiles across multiple years stacked on top of each other
Comparison; showing any trends, either sales growth or decline, for the group
Item count; the number of items included in this group
Avg age; the average age of the items in this group
Max age; the oldest item in this group
Age distribution; showing where items fall between maximum age and minimum age
Min age; the youngest item in this group
You may be interested in the following articles to learn more about each function of the Advanced Forecasting Module: