Profit From Your Forecasting Software

CHAPTER 11Summary: A Best Practice Blueprint for Using Your Software

11.1 INTRODUCTION

Demand forecasting is challenging and the performance of your forecasts depends largely on having the right facilities available in your software to support you in this task. In this last chapter, we will draw up a shopping list of desirable features of forecasting software products. We will then summarize the key messages in the book to provide a blueprint for best practice.

11.2 DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF FORECASTING SOFTWARE

In addition to obvious features – such as ease-of-use, speed, and accuracy of calculation, a wide range of available methods, the ability to interface with other systems, and the availability of training and support—there are a number of more specific characteristics to look for when choosing forecasting software. We discuss these here, and they are summarized in Table 11.1.

Table 11.1 Desirable Features of Forecasting Software

Desirable Feature	✓
Data Preparation
Handles missing values
Handles outliers
Allows trading-day adjustments
Allows transformations to meet model assumptions
Graphical Displays
Clear displays of sales history
Seasonal-cycle graphs
Scattergraphs
Residual plots
Method Selection
Automatic method selection available
Explanations for selection of methods
Flagging of forecasts that need attention
Separates fitting and out-of-sample periods
Reports multiple measures of fit, accuracy, and bias
Allows rolling-origin evaluation ...