The Forecast file contains some of the most important inventory control data, including period forecast and demand statistics per item/warehouse. It contains the future forecast periods for one year, and historical forecast periods for one or two years, depending on how History, no of years is defined in the IC control file.
The Forecast file is updated (from the start period you specify up to and including the most future period) when you run Start inventory calculation. Note: Changes made to the Forecast file must be identified with reason codes.
- Select the Work with forecasts menu item.
- On the main panel, select the applicable forecast and click Change.
- You access the detail panel. Note: This panel can also be accessed by clicking Maintain forecast on the Inventory management panel in the Item/Warehouse file. If the FORDESCE (Show item forecast in descend) function is activated in the Function control file, the forecast periods will be displayed in descending order. If that function is not activated, the forecast periods will be displayed in ascending order. Select the forecast period you want to maintain.
- You access the Work with forecasts detail panel. You can maintain the following fields:
- Lock forecast
- Indicate if the forecast for this item/warehouse combination and period should be locked. By locking the forecast, the inventory calculations will not recalculate the forecast value for the period. You can lock the present period forecast and any future period forecasts for any item/warehouse combination, but you cannot lock a historical period forecast.
- Level forecast
- Enter the level forecast in stock units. Note: This value is protected if Protect frcst is set to YES in the IC control file. This field is recalculated each time the inventory calculation is executed.
- Trend forecast
- Only relevant if Trend code is set to YES in the Item/Warehouse file for this item/warehouse combination. Enter the trend forecast. Note: This value is protected if field Protect frcst is set to YES in the IC control file. This field is recalculated each time the inventory calculation is executed.
- Mean absolute dev
- Enter the mean absolute deviation (MAD) for this item/warehouse combination. It is used in calculating forecast error, which in turn is used in calculating the safety stock level. The closer this value is to zero, the more accurate the forecast. Note: This value is protected if Protect frcst is set to YES in the IC control file. This field is recalculated each time the inventory calculation is executed.
- Mean relative dev
- Enter the mean relative deviation (MRD) for this item/warehouse combination. It is used in calculating forecast error, which in turn is used in calculating the safety stock level. The closer this value is to zero, the more accurate the forecast. Note: This value is protected if Protect frcst is set to YES in the IC control file. This field is recalculated each time the inventory calculation is executed.
- Alpha value
- Enter the alpha value for this item/warehouse combination. If manual alpha is used this value will be the same as the alpha value specified in Work with forecast control codes for all forecast periods. If automatic alpha update is used, displays the calculated alpha value. Note: This field is recalculated each time the inventory calculation is executed.
Click OK to confirm the changes. Exit the routine.