Implementing a Fully Integrated Sales Forecasting Solution

IMPLEMENTING A FULLY INTEGRATED SALES FORECASTING SOLUTION By Charles W. Chase Jr. Describes in detail what kind of forecasting system businesses should be looking for and why … system should be built around a process, not the process around the system … the best corporate data warehouse is one that can untangle and consolidate the maze of sales, marketing, and financial data, as well as other information needed to manage the sales forecast. During the past decade data availability and quality has improved substantially along with the ability to store it. It is not unusual to hear about companies who have over a terabyte of information stored in their enterprise data warehouses. As a result, companies have been asking for more factbased forecasting and analytics to make quicker decisions closer to their customers and consumers. This situation has opened the door for predictive analytics as companies strive to uncover patterns in consumer behavior, measure the effectiveness of marketing investment strategies, and optimize financial performance. Nevertheless, improving forecast accuracy will still play a critical role in driving incremental volume and profit as companies ...