Demand forecast document
A demand forecast document is issued by clicking on the button [Add] in the List button group. Clicking on that button opens the form of the demand forecast document.
Tab General
In this tab, the basic information necessary to generate a demand forecast is provided.
Figure 233 Tab General on the form of demand forecast.
This tab is composed of the following panels:
1. The header where the following information is specified: dokument number, center and a date of issue. There is also a description field for providing additional information
2. Warehouses to calculate and forecast warehouses panels which contain the basic information about the selected warehouse. Each of these panels provides the following information:
· Code – code of the selected warehouse
· Name – name of the selected warehouse
· Forecast Coefficient – foecast coefficient set in a given warehouse. For more information about the forecast coefficient see the manual Comarch ALTUM Directories -> Warehouses
3. Periods – list of periods according to which the forecast must be calculated
Header
The header contains the basic information about the document and it is the following:
Number - the elements of the document number depends on the selected numeration scheme specified for this type of document (see Configuration -> Numerators). The document number can be composed of three to eight segments arranged in the specified order. If the numeration scheme contains a Warehouse section (and the company has several warehouses), then clicking on the arrow button next to this segment will enable the selection of a particular warehouse from the open list of warehouses. The symbol of the selected warehouse will appear in the document number.
Description – field for providing additional information
Center – field for selecting the center of the company structure
Document Status – indicates the current status of a given document. The document may receive one of the following statuses:
Initiated – indicates that a document is being issued and it is not yet saved in the database
Unconfirmed – indicates that a document is saved as draft and it is editable
Confirmed – indicates that a document has been accepted and it is no longer modifiable
Completed – indicates a document from which purchase orders were already generated
Canceled – indicates a canceled document which is not editable
Date of Issue – document registration date. The current date is suggested, by default
Confirmation Date – this date is not editable and it indicates a document acceptance date
List of warehouses
The list of warehouses is divided into two panels. The first panel Warehouses to Calculate presents a list of warehouses on the basis of which the historical stock levels of goods will be calculated. The second panel Forecast Warehouses presents the warehouses for which the goods will be forecast. Both lists are composed of the following columns:
Code – code of the added warehouse
Name – name of the added warehouse
Forecast Coefficient – forecast coefficient set on a given warehouse. For more information about the forecast coefficient see the manual Comarch ALTUM Directories -> Warehouses.
A warehouse is added to each of the list by clicking on the button [Add] in the Warehouse to Calculate and Forecast Warehouse button groups respectively.
Periods
The Periods panel presents the list of periods for which the items forecast will be calculated. Information provided on this list is the following:
Name – period name
From – period start date
To – period end date
Days – number of days of the specified period. Changing the number of days changes the period’s end date against the start date. If any of the mentioned dates is changed, the number of days will be updated accordingly.
Thus, the range of the period can be specified by:
Determining the dates From and To (the number of days will be then calculated automatically)
Determining the date From and the number of days (the date To will be then calculated automatically)
Tab Calculation
This tab is divided into two panels: Items and Calculation Method.
In the Items panel, it is possible to enter the items for which the forecast will be calculated. Items are selected by clicking on the button [Add] in the Calculation button group. After selecting the items, the forecast quantity can be calculated on the basis of the selected historical period (e.g. corresponding period of the preceding year). For the calculated balance of the historical sales it is possible to determine an estimated volume of sales change in percentage terms for the forecast periods. Thus, the quantity of goods will be forecast as follows:
Calculated historical sales (for the selected period) +/- change (in % terms) = forecast quantity.
Apart from calculating the forecast quantity automatically, it is also possible to manually enter the values to be forecast. Changes (in % terms) and the forecast values can be entered by clicking on the plus symbol available by each item.
The calculated quantity refers to the forecast quantity of goods for all the warehouses indicated in tab General.
In the second panel Calculation Method it is possible to select the method of calculating the demand forecast. There are three method of calculating the demand forecast available:
·Corresponding period of the preceding year – this option is set, by default. If selected, the historical sales (calculated quantity) is calculated on the basis of the corresponding periods of the preceding year for each of the specified period.
Example: The periods specified are the following: January 2010, February 2010, March 2010. The selected calculation method is: Corresponding period of the preceding year. When calculating the historical sales, the following quantity will be calculated: for January 2010 – sales from January 2009, for February 2010 – sales from February 2009, for March 2010 – sales from March 2009
· Preceding period – if selected, the histroical sales (calculated quantity) is calculated on the basis of the period preceding the forecast period. This option is available only for the forecast for which one forecast period is defined. If there are several periods defined, for each of those periods, the system includes a particular period expressed in the number of days preceding the forecast period. If the forecast periods, however, follow in succession, the system includes the preceding periods by calculating the forecast back from the start date of the first period. The sales from the last period is then the quantity calculated for the last forecast period, and so on, as shown in the example below.
Example: The periods specified are the following: January 2010, February 2010, March 2010. The selected calculation method is: Preceding year. The historical sales will be calculated on the basis of the three months preceding the first period of the forecast, thusL December 2009, November 2009, October 2009. Thus, the forecast for January 2010 will be calculated on the basis of sales from October 2009, the forecast for February 2010 will be calculated on the basis of the sales from November 2009, and the forecast for March 2010 will be calculated on the basis of the sales from December 2009.
· Specified period – if selected, it will be possible to specify the start and end dates of the historical period on the basis of which the historical quantity should be calculated.
Figure 234 Tab Calculation on the form of demand forecast.
Tab Forecast for Warehouses
In this tab, it is possible to distribute the forecast quantity calculated in tab Calculation to the forecast warehouses selected in tab General. After confirming the forecast document, the quantities indicated for particular warehouses will be the final score of the forecast and it will be included in the item quantity calculation. These quantities will be also presented on a purchase order generated from the demand forecast document.
In the upper part of this tab, it is possible to specify the method of distributing the forecst values to the selected warehouses. Possible options are:
· Evenly – if selected, the quantities of goods will be distributed evenly during the forecast periods to all the warehouses (regardless of the forecast coefficient specified on a given warehouse)
Example: The quantity of the product P1 was forecast for January 2010 to 800 items. After distributing that quantity evenly to two warehouses (W1 and W2), the warehouses received 400 items of the product each.
· Proportionally – if selected, the forecast quantity for each item will be distributed in the indicated period according to the forecast coefficient specified on the warehouse form.
Example: The quantity of the product P1 was forecast for January 2010 to 800 items. The forecast coefficient specified for the warehouses W1 and W2 is 3 and 5 respectively. After distributing that quantity proportionally to the two warehouses, the warehouses received the following quantities of tha product: W1 = 300 (3/8 out of 800) and W2 = 500 (5/8 out of 800).
Figure 235 Tab Forecasts for Warehouses on the form of demand forecast.
Tab Associated Documents
In this tab, there are the purchase orders that were generated from a confirmed demand forecast document.
Figure 236 Tab Associated Documents on the form of demand forecast.
Tab Attributes
Details about how to assign an attribute values to an object can be found in the manual Comarch ALTUM Configuration, in chapter Assigning attribute value to an object instance.
Figure 237 Tab Attributes on the form of demand forecast.
Generating of purchase order from demand forecast
Purchase orders can be generated only from a confirmed demand forecast either from the level of the demand forecasts list or from the level of the selected demand forecast details window. A new purchase order is generated by clicking on the button [Purchase Order] in the Generation button group.
Figure 238Generating of purchase order from demand forecast.
Clicking on the button [Purchase Order] opens the window of purchase order generation optimization. In this window, it is possible to specify whether a purchase order must be generated for all the periods and warehouses or only for particular periods which are selected by selecting the check box in the column Order on each of the selected periods and warehouses.