Business Forecasting’s Roles

Business Forecasting’s roles By larry lapide, Ph.D. (This is an ongoing column in The Journal, which is intended to give a brief view on a potential topic of interest to practitioners of business forecasting. Suggestions on topics that you would like to see covered should be sent via email to llapide@mit.edu) O O ne of the trends I noticed during my 30-plus years in the business world has been an evolution towards greater professionalism in the business forecasting function. What used to be a job someone took on for a short period of time is now viewed as a long- term career path. I recently heralded this fact in a column I wrote for Supply Chain Management Review magazine (January/ February 2010) titled, “The Forecaster’s New Role,” in which I discussed all the ways in which business forecasters should support supply chain managers. That column was written for those managers. This column is an adapted version of it that is geared towards elaborating all the ways business forecasters might support all managers in their companies. Business Forecasting BacKgrounD I have been affiliated with the Institute of Business Forecasting & Planning (IBF)— recently appended with “& ...