Demand Forecasting

in a Supply Chain

7-1

Role of Forecasting
in a Supply Chain
The basis for all strategic and planning decisions in a
supply chain
Used for both push and pull processes
Examples:
Production: scheduling, inventory, aggregate planning
Marketing: sales force allocation, promotions, new production
introduction
Finance: plant/equipment investment, budgetary planning
Personnel: workforce planning, hiring, layoffs

All of these decisions are interrelated

7-2

Characteristics of Forecasts
Forecasts are always wrong. Should include
expected value and measure of error.
Long-term forecasts are less accurate than shortterm forecasts (forecast horizon is important)
Aggregate forecasts are more accurate than
disaggregate forecasts

7-3

Forecasting Methods
Qualitative: primarily subjective; rely on judgment and
opinion
Time Series: use historical demand only
Static
Adaptive

Causal: use the relationship between demand and some

other factor to develop forecast
Simulation
Imitate consumer choices that give rise to demand
Can combine time series and causal methods

7-4

Components of an Observation
Observed demand (O) =
Systematic component (S) + Random component (R)
Level (current deseasonalized demand)
Trend (growth or decline in demand)
Seasonality (predictable seasonal fluctuation)
Systematic component: Expected value of demand
Random component: The part of the forecast that deviates
from the systematic component
Forecast error: difference between forecast and actual demand
7-5

Time Series Forecasting

Quarter
II, 1998
III, 1998
IV, 1998
I, 1999
II, 1999
III, 1999
IV, 1999
I, 2000
II, 2000
III, 2000
IV, 2000
I, 2001

Demand Dt
8000
13000
23000
34000
10000
18000
23000
38000
12000
13000
32000
41000

Forecast demand for the

next four quarters.

7-6

Time Series Forecasting

50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0

7-7

Forecasting Methods
Static
Adaptive

Moving average
Simple exponential smoothing
Holts model (with trend)
Winters model (with trend and seasonality)

7-8

Basic Approach to
Demand Forecasting
Understand the objectives of forecasting
Integrate demand planning and forecasting
Identify major factors that influence the demand
forecast
Understand and identify customer segments
Determine the appropriate forecasting technique
Establish performance and error measures for the
forecast

7-9

Time Series
Forecasting Methods
Goal is to predict systematic component of demand
Multiplicative: (level)(trend)(seasonal factor)
Additive: level + trend + seasonal factor
Mixed: (level + trend)(seasonal factor)

Static methods
Adaptive forecasting

7-10

Static Methods
Assume a mixed model:
Systematic component = (level + trend)(seasonal factor)
Ft+l = [L + (t + l)T]St+l
= forecast in period t for demand in period t + l
L = estimate of level for period 0
T = estimate of trend
St = estimate of seasonal factor for period t
Dt = actual demand in period t
Ft = forecast of demand in period t

7-11

Static Methods
Estimating level and trend
Estimating seasonal factors

7-12

Estimating Level and Trend

Before estimating level and trend, demand data
must be deseasonalized
Deseasonalized demand = demand that would
have been observed in the absence of seasonal
fluctuations
Periodicity (p)
the number of periods after which the seasonal cycle
repeats itself

7-13

Time Series Forecasting

Forecast demand for the

next four quarters.

7-14

Time Series Forecasting

50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0

7-15

Estimating Level and Trend

Before estimating level and trend, demand data
must be deseasonalized
Deseasonalized demand = demand that would
have been observed in the absence of seasonal
fluctuations
Periodicity (p)
the number of periods after which the seasonal cycle
repeats itself
for demand at Tahoe Salt p = 4

7-16

Deseasonalizing Demand

[Dt-(p/2) + Dt+(p/2) + 2Di] / 2p for p even

Dt =

(sum is from i = t+1-(p/2) to t+1+(p/2))

Di / p for p odd
(sum is from i = t-(p/2) to t+(p/2)), p/2 truncated to lower integer

7-17

Deseasonalizing Demand
For the example, p = 4 is even
For t = 3:
D3 = {D1 + D5 + Sum(i=2 to 4) [2Di]}/8
= {8000+10000+[(2)(13000)+(2)(23000)+(2)(34000)]}/8
= 19750
D4 = {D2 + D6 + Sum(i=3 to 5) [2Di]}/8
= {13000+18000+[(2)(23000)+(2)(34000)+(2)(10000)]/8
= 20625

7-18

Deseasonalizing Demand
Then include trend
Dt = L + tT
where Dt = deseasonalized demand in period t
L = level (deseasonalized demand at period 0)
T = trend (rate of growth of deseasonalized demand)
Trend is determined by linear regression using deseasonalized
demand as the dependent variable and period as the
independent variable (can be done in Excel)
In the example, L = 18,439 and T = 524

7-19

Time Series of Demand

50000

Demand

40000
30000

Dt
Dt-bar

20000
10000
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Period

7-20

Estimating Seasonal Factors

Use the previous equation to calculate deseasonalized
demand for each period
St = Dt / Dt = seasonal factor for period t
In the example,
D2 = 18439 + (524)(2) = 19487 D2 = 13000
S2 = 13000/19487 = 0.67
The seasonal factors for the other periods are
calculated in the same manner

7-21

Estimating Seasonal Factors

t
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Dt Dt-bar S-bar
8000 18963 0.42 = 8000/18963
13000 19487 0.67 = 13000/19487
23000 20011 1.15 = 23000/20011
34000 20535 1.66 = 34000/20535
10000 21059 0.47 = 10000/21059
18000 21583 0.83 = 18000/21583
23000 22107 1.04 = 23000/22107
38000 22631 1.68 = 38000/22631
12000 23155 0.52 = 12000/23155
13000 23679 0.55 = 13000/23679
32000 24203 1.32 = 32000/24203
41000 24727 1.66 = 41000/24727

7-22

Estimating Seasonal Factors

The overall seasonal factor for a season is then obtained by
averaging all of the factors for a season
If there are r seasonal cycles, for all periods of the form pt+i, 1<i<p,
the seasonal factor for season i is
Si = [Sum(j=0 to r-1) Sjp+i]/r
In the example, there are 3 seasonal cycles in the data and p=4, so
S1 = (0.42+0.47+0.52)/3 = 0.47
S2 = (0.67+0.83+0.55)/3 = 0.68
S3 = (1.15+1.04+1.32)/3 = 1.17
S4 = (1.66+1.68+1.66)/3 = 1.67

7-23

Estimating the Forecast

Using the original equation, we can forecast the next
four periods of demand:
F13 = (L+13T)S1 = [18439+(13)(524)](0.47) = 11868
F14 = (L+14T)S2 = [18439+(14)(524)](0.68) = 17527
F15 = (L+15T)S3 = [18439+(15)(524)](1.17) = 30770
F16 = (L+16T)S4 = [18439+(16)(524)](1.67) = 44794

7-24

Adaptive Forecasting
The estimates of level, trend, and seasonality are
adjusted after each demand observation
General steps in adaptive forecasting
Moving average
Simple exponential smoothing
Trend-corrected exponential smoothing (Holts
model)
Trend- and seasonality-corrected exponential
smoothing (Winters model)

7-25

Basic Formula for

Adaptive Forecasting
Ft+1 = (Lt + lT)St+1 = forecast for period t+l in period t
Lt = Estimate of level at the end of period t
Tt = Estimate of trend at the end of period t
St = Estimate of seasonal factor for period t
Ft = Forecast of demand for period t (made period t-1 or earlier)
Dt = Actual demand observed in period t
Et = Forecast error in period t
At = Absolute deviation for period t = |Et|
MAD = Mean Absolute Deviation = average value of At

7-26

General Steps in
Adaptive Forecasting
Initialize: Compute initial estimates of level (L 0), trend (T0), and
seasonal factors (S1,,Sp). This is done as in static forecasting.
Forecast: Forecast demand for period t+1 using the general
equation
Estimate error: Compute error Et+1 = Ft+1- Dt+1
Modify estimates: Modify the estimates of level (L t+1), trend
(Tt+1), and seasonal factor (St+p+1), given the error Et+1 in the
forecast
Repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 for each subsequent period

7-27

Moving Average
Used when demand has no observable trend or seasonality
Systematic component of demand = level
The level in period t is the average demand over the last N periods (the Nperiod moving average)
Current forecast for all future periods is the same and is based on the
current estimate of the level
Lt = (Dt + Dt-1 + + Dt-N+1) / N
Ft+1 = Lt and Ft+n = Lt
After observing the demand for period t+1, revise the estimates as follows:
Lt+1 = (Dt+1 + Dt + + Dt-N+2) / N
Ft+2 = Lt+1

7-28

Moving Average Example

From Tahoe Salt example t the end of period 4, what is the forecast
demand for periods 5 through 8 using a 4-period moving average?
L4 = (D4+D3+D2+D1)/4 = (34000+23000+13000+8000)/4 = 19500
F5 = 19500 = F6 = F7 = F8
Observe demand in period 5 to be D5 = 10000
Forecast error in period 5, E5 = F5 - D5 = 19500 - 10000 = 9500
Revise estimate of level in period 5:
L5 = (D5+D4+D3+D2)/4 = (10000+34000+23000+13000)/4 = 20000
F6 = L5 = 20000

7-29

Simple Exponential Smoothing

Used when demand has no observable trend or seasonality
Systematic component of demand = level
Initial estimate of level, L 0, assumed to be the average of all historical data
L0 = [Sum(i=1 to n)Di]/n
Current forecast for all future periods is equal to the current estimate of
the level and is given as follows:
Ft+1 = Lt and Ft+n = Lt
After observing demand Dt+1, revise the estimate of the level:
Lt+1 = Dt+1 + (1-)Lt
Lt+1 = Sum(n=0 to t+1)[(1-)nDt+1-n ]

7-30

Simple Exponential Smoothing

Example
From Tahoe Salt data, forecast demand for period 1 using exponential smoothing
L0 = average of all 12 periods of data
= Sum(i=1 to 12)[Di]/12 = 22083
F1 = L0 = 22083
Observed demand for period 1 = D1 = 8000
Forecast error for period 1, E1, is as follows:
E1 = F1 - D1 = 22083 - 8000 = 14083
Assuming = 0.1, revised estimate of level for period 1:
L1 = D1 + (1-)L0 = (0.1)(8000) + (0.9)(22083) = 20675
F2 = L1 = 20675
Note that the estimate of level for period 1 is lower than in period 0

7-31

Trend-Corrected Exponential
Smoothing (Holts Model)
Appropriate when the demand is assumed to have a level and trend in
the systematic component of demand but no seasonality
Obtain initial estimate of level and trend by running a linear regression
of the following form:
Dt = at + b
T0 = a
L0 = b
In period t, the forecast for future periods is expressed as follows:
Ft+1 = Lt + Tt
Ft+n = Lt + nTt

7-32

Trend-Corrected Exponential
Smoothing (Holts Model)
After observing demand for period t, revise the estimates for level and trend
as follows:
Lt+1 = Dt+1 + (1-)(Lt + Tt)
Tt+1 = (Lt+1 - Lt) + (1-)Tt
= smoothing constant for level
= smoothing constant for trend
Example: Tahoe Salt demand data. Forecast demand for period 1 using Holts
model (trend corrected exponential smoothing)
Using linear regression,
L0 = 12015 (linear intercept)
T0 = 1549 (linear slope)

7-33

Holts Model Example (continued)

Forecast for period 1:
F1 = L0 + T0 = 12015 + 1549 = 13564
Observed demand for period 1 = D1 = 8000
E1 = F1 - D1 = 13564 - 8000 = 5564
Assume = 0.1, = 0.2
L1 = D1 + (1-)(L0+T0) = (0.1)(8000) + (0.9)(13564) = 13008
T1 = (L1 - L0) + (1-)T0 = (0.2)(13008 - 12015) + (0.8)(1549)
= 1438
F2 = L1 + T1 = 13008 + 1438 = 14446
F5 = L1 + 4T1 = 13008 + (4)(1438) = 18760

7-34

Trend- and Seasonality-Corrected

Exponential Smoothing
Appropriate when the systematic component of demand
is assumed to have a level, trend, and seasonal factor
Systematic component = (level+trend)(seasonal factor)
Assume periodicity p
Obtain initial estimates of level (L0), trend (T0), seasonal
factors (S1,,Sp) using procedure for static forecasting
In period t, the forecast for future periods is given by:
Ft+1 = (Lt+Tt)(St+1) and Ft+n = (Lt + nTt)St+n

7-35

Trend- and Seasonality-Corrected

Exponential Smoothing (continued)
After observing demand for period t+1, revise estimates for level, trend, and
seasonal factors as follows:
Lt+1 = (Dt+1/St+1) + (1-)(Lt+Tt)
Tt+1 = (Lt+1 - Lt) + (1-)Tt
St+p+1 = (Dt+1/Lt+1) + (1-)St+1
= smoothing constant for level
= smoothing constant for trend
= smoothing constant for seasonal factor
Example: Tahoe Salt data. Forecast demand for period 1 using Winters model.
Initial estimates of level, trend, and seasonal factors are obtained as in the static
forecasting case

7-36

Trend- and Seasonality-Corrected

Exponential Smoothing Example (continued)
L0 = 18439 T0 = 524 S1=0.47, S2=0.68, S3=1.17, S4=1.67
F1 = (L0 + T0)S1 = (18439+524)(0.47) = 8913
The observed demand for period 1 = D1 = 8000
Forecast error for period 1 = E1 = F1-D1 = 8913 - 8000 = 913
Assume = 0.1, =0.2, =0.1; revise estimates for level and trend for
period 1 and for seasonal factor for period 5
L1 = (D1/S1)+(1-)(L0+T0) = (0.1)(8000/0.47)+(0.9)(18439+524)=18769
T1 = (L1-L0)+(1-)T0 = (0.2)(18769-18439)+(0.8)(524) = 485
S5 = (D1/L1)+(1-)S1 = (0.1)(8000/18769)+(0.9)(0.47) = 0.47

F2 = (L1+T1)S2 = (18769 + 485)(0.68) = 13093

7-37

Measures of Forecast Error

Forecast error = Et = Ft - Dt
Mean squared error (MSE)
MSEn = (Sum(t=1 to n)[Et2])/n
Absolute deviation = At = |Et|
Mean absolute deviation (MAD)
MADn = (Sum(t=1 to n)[At])/n
= 1.25MAD

7-38

Measures of Forecast Error

Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE)
MAPEn = (Sum(t=1 to n)[|Et/ Dt|100])/n
Bias
Shows whether the forecast consistently under- or overestimates
demand; should fluctuate around 0
biasn = Sum(t=1 to n)[Et]
Tracking signal
Should be within the range of +6
Otherwise, possibly use a new forecasting method
TSt = bias / MADt

7-39

Forecasting Demand at Tahoe Salt

Moving average
Simple exponential smoothing
Trend-corrected exponential smoothing
Trend- and seasonality-corrected exponential
smoothing

7-40

Forecasting in Practice
Collaborate in building forecasts
The value of data depends on where you are in the
supply chain
Be sure to distinguish between demand and sales

7-41