When substantial investmnet has already been made in demand
forecasting software then clearly the first course of action is to
strive to improve the use of existing software to improve forecast
accuracy. At the end of the day, however, forecasting software
should support the sales forecasting process, not dictate it, so there
may come a time when a review is necessary. If the company relies
on Excel spreadsheets for demand forecasting and planning there is
usually some point at which increased complexity and the need for a
more sophisticated approach triggers the need for a search for
specialist software. Forecast Solutions can help in line with
three alternative levels of service:
Level 1. Short remote assistance
Forecast Solutions will provide a one-way confidentiality
agreement if required. Then a questionnaire will be sent to you
by email for you to complete and return. Forecast Solutions will
carry out up to one day of research as necessary and will finally send
you a short list of possible suppliers with comments and contact
details for you to follow up yourselves.
Level 2. Remote assistance including data analysis
Forecast Solutions will provide a one-way confidentiality agreement.
With this enhanced level of service a qustionnaire will be sent
together with details of acceptable file layouts for the provision
of your data. Your data will be placed on a forecasting database
and analysed to establish the nature of the data patterns that exist,
the suitability of alternative forecasting methods and the forecast
accuracy that might result using statistical methods. Any
supplementary questions arising from the data analysis or the initial
questionnaire response will be raised. Finally, you will be sent
a summary of the analysis and a short-list of potential suppliers with
comments and contact details.
Level 3. Full help with software selection
Initial meetings will be held in order to fully understand the business
requirements for sales forecasting and the methods and processes
currently employed. After that some or all of the processes
described above may be followed, culminating in the agreement on a
short list of suppliers. Forecast Solutions will
attend software presentations and will contribute to and
facilitate the selection process.
The final choice of software will, of course, be your own
decision.
