Season collection forecast (forward orders)

Only 10 days after the forward order selling period has started and about 10-15% of the customers have been visited, A3 will calculate a first forecast of the total sales per style/color by the end of the forward order period. During the sales period several forecasts are made. It also allows you to monitor the blind forecast with the latest forecast.

It is important that A3 is not a black box which produces a forecast figure nobody understands. Behind each forecast figure the planner can see how A3 has come to its forecast, giving the responsible decision maker the safe feeling that it is not a figure out of the blue. This detailed information also helps to understand the critical issues in the planning process of the company, thus enabling you to take the right steps to improve.

A3 takes into account the dynamics of the sales period, which are different for each company. Some of these factors are:

• Forward orders, re-orders, cancellations
• Re-runners and specials
• Key accounts versus small accounts
• Clearance
• Are the best customers visited first
• At which stage do new customers come in
• Are all customers visited again

The forecast quantities can be split over the sizes automatically.