Short Term Sales Forecasting

A very important object of Sales Forecasting is the best utilization of machines so that more production may be obtained during the period of high demand and the machines may not remain idle during the period of low demand.

The sales forecast gas a horizon defined by the order cycle time from the plant to the facility and thus can be extremely short-term (often monthly, weekly, or in some extreme cases, daily forecasts).

Typically, sales forecast a few months ahead are required for a large number of product lines. The attraction of exponential smoothing is that it is quickly and easily implemented, forecast being generated routinely, except perhaps in a few cases where there is evidence of unsatisfactory forecast quality.

Both short-term and long-term forecasts are useful. Short-term forecast, usually one season or shorter for agribusiness firms, are useful in formatting current operating plans. In food firms, such forecasts may be weekly or daily. In a food service firm, forecast may even be hourly as the firm works to schedule food preparation to accommodate daily sales patterns.
Short Term Sales Forecasting