Benchmarking software Packages and Systems

BENCHMARKING SOFTWARE PACKAGES AND SYSTEMS By Chaman L. Jain, St. John’s University Given the demands on professional forecasters with regard to the number of items to be forecasted and the continual quest for improvements, it is virtually impossible to do them without the aid of computer or a proper forecasting software/system. Today’s practitioners must prepare forecasts covering thousands of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), which are broken down by regions, distribution centers, marketing channels such as food and drug stores, and customers. The increasing globalization of markets has further added to the responsibility of a forecaster. In some companies, the forecaster is required to prepare forecasts for both domestic and foreign markets. In recent years, a large number of forecasting software packages and systems have emerged, enabling forecasters to do their job more effectively and in a timely manner. Still, a pertinent question surfaces — which is the right forecasting software/system for me? In this article, we will discuss the market share of different forecasting software/systems, as well as which one dominates and in which market. Before proceeding further, ...