Advancements in New Product Forecasting By Charles Chase, CPF

Accurate forecasts are needed to support the success of new product launches so that Sales can make decisions regarding sales support materials and training, and so Finance can make decisions surrounding corporate budgets and financial expectations. In the absence of historical data, companies typically over-project sales volumes for new products to avoid back orders in the case of sales exceeding projections. This article discusses how advanced analytics and machine learning have shown significant improvements in new product forecasting, analyzing unstructured data to respond quickly to market changes and consumer acceptance, thereby improving the success rate of new product launches.