For many companies, especially those in the consumer-products industries, formal collaborations with supply-chain partners can mitigate if not prevent miscommunications, misinformation, and missed opportunities in forecasting and fulfilling consumer demand. Jeff and John build on their...

Sujit Singh details the knowledge and proficiencies essential for todayÕs business forecasters and planners. His list is long Ð perhaps even a bit intimidating Ð and serves as a virtual job description for organizational candidates. If youÕve earned the title of Òsuccessful forecaster,Ó...

One of three short commentaries on Michael GillilandÕs lead article in Foresight (Fall 2014): Role of the Sales Force in Forecasting Copyright International Institute of Forecasters, 2014

We know that when forecasting the product hierarchy, reconciliation is invariably needed to make the sum of lower-level forecasts equate to the upperlevel forecasts. The authors argue that the traditional Bottom-Up, Top-Down, and Middle-Out procedures for reconciliation all fail to make best use...

The Forecaster in the Field section of Foresight features an interview with Russian forecaster Igor Gusakov--an S&OP planning consultant in Moscow and author of an article in this issue--about his experiences in that field and culture. Copyright International Institute of Forecasters, 2014

Mike draws on his own and othersÕ experience to identify the key issues in using sales force input to the forecasts. As you would no doubt expect, these are not black-and-white concerns, but demonstrate the importance of thinking through how sales input should be provided, how to motivate...

In this Hot New research column, Goodwin cites a recent blog of Uriel Haran and Don Moore of Ben-Gurion University, who Òpresent a simple method that aims to improve the accuracy of judgmental forecasts involving probability distributions.Ó The authors call their method SPIES: Subjective...

In this article, Igor examines the process of data-cube forecasting and its potential for improving an organizationÕs forecasting support system (FSS). The process utilizes online analytical processing (OLAP) to embed time-series methods and forecast adjustments, thus integrating key aspects of...

One of three short commentaries on Michael GillilandÕs lead article in Foresight (Fall 2014): Role of the Sales Force in Forecasting Copyright International Institute of Forecasters, 2014

One of three short commentaries on Michael GillilandÕs lead article in Foresight (Fall 2014): Role of the Sales Force in Forecasting Copyright International Institute of Forecasters, 2014