Consumption-Based Forecasting and Planning

Acknowledgments

Over the course of my career, I have had many chance meetings with others, several of whom have had a significant impact on my life, career, and this book. More than a few of those chance meetings lead to personal friendships that have spanned several decades.

First and foremost, I want to thank Dr. Oral Capps, executive professor and Regents Professor, department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University, who has been a mentor and a best friend—not to mention being one of the smartest people that I have ever known. Dr. Chaman Jain, founder of the Institute of Business Forecasting (IBF), and chief editor of the Journal of Business Forecasting (JBF), who has given me a platform to write, speak, and share my experiences with others—to pay it forward.

A special thank-you to Albert Guffanti, VP/Group Publisher of Retail Information Systems (RIS News) and Consumer Goods Technology (CGT) at Ensemble IQ for allowing me to share several analytics research studies and reports that his team has created over the past six years. Also, I thank him for his support in providing another social media platform for me to publish and share my experiences and knowledge, to continue paying it forward.

For the past 18 years I have had the privilege of working at SAS Institute Inc., where I have been humbled by the sheer number of extremely smart people. Without their curiosity, passion, and innovative spirit, this book would not have been written. They have provided a steady ...