Innovations in Business Forecasting: Predictive Analytics

There has been a lot of focus on demand signal repositories (DSR) over the past several years with little emphasis on leveraging that information using predictive analytics. The majority of the output has been focused on descriptive analytics, or reporting. If you want to be more proactive than simply basing replenishment on shipment data, you need access to downstream data, analysis, and insights to make decisions that put you ahead of the demand curve. It is about more than just forecasting trends and seasonality, using DSR information for demand sensing to identify and measure market signals, and then using those signals to shape future demand. DSR is a basic foundation but Demand Signal Analytics (DSA) is where real differentiation and value can be gained. 26 Copyright © 2014 Journal of Business Forecasting | All Rights Reserved | Summer 2014 social media as well as ERP software from SAP, finance, and internal systems are all available to drive powerful analytics. Downstream consumption data are now more widespread, with many retailers sharing POS data with consumer products companies on a daily basis and, as a result, expecting enhanced knowledge from their suppliers. There ...