Setting Forecast Parameters for Buy Lines

The system forecasts product demand for both seasonal and non-seasonal products. You have the flexibility of setting your own forecast parameters.

Your company may have items that are seasonal or non-seasonal. For example, a branch in the Mid-West may have specific heating elements only carried in winter months. These are seasonal items. The demand for these types of items is calculated differently; however, you set the forecast parameters in the same way.

Forecast parameters are assigned at the following levels:

For seasonal items that have the Auto Trend flag set to yes, you can use the Auto Trend hot key on the Forecast Parameters screen to display the maximum decrease percent and maximum increase percent. See Entering Forecast Period Parameters for more information.

  To enter forecast parameters at the buy line level:

  1. From the Purch > Maintenance menu, select Buy Line Maintenance to display the Buy Line Maintenance screen.

  2. In the Buy Line ID field, enter a buy line you want to display.

  3. Use the Forecast hot key to display the Buy Line Forecast Parameters Maintenance screen.

  4. Use the Forecast Parameters hot key to display the Forecast Parameters screen.

  5. Change or update the appropriate fields:

Field

Description

Br

The branch which uses the specified item's demand forecast parameters.

Hits (Regular)

The number of hits for a regular stock item used with the regular minimum and maximum days to determine how many days of sales history to use to determine demand.

Min Days (Regular)

The minimum number of days used with the number of hits for a regular stock item to determine how many days of sales history to use to determine demand.

Max Days (Regular)

The maximum number of days used with the number of hits for a regular stock item to determine how many days of sales history to use to determine demand.

Hits (Seasonal)

The number of hits for a seasonal stock item used with the seasonal minimum and maximum days to determine how many days of sales history to use to determine demand.

Min Days (Seasonal)

The minimum number of days used with the number of hits for a seasonal stock item to determine how many days of sales history to use to determine demand.

Max Days (Seasonal)

The maximum number of days used with the number of hits for a seasonal stock item to determine how many days of sales history to use to determine demand.

Auto Trnd

Indicates whether a trend calculation is enabled for products using seasonal forecasting at the branch. Set the Auto Trend at the product, buy line, or control file level.

Inclu Dirs

Indicates whether to include direct shipments from the vendor in demand calculations. Set the Include Directs parameter at the product, buy line, or control file level.

  1. Press Esc to save your changes.

See Also:

Buy Lines Overview

Buy Line Maintenance