Red Kite consultants have extensive experience of establishing forecasting processes in many different environments. We can help you climb the learning curve quickly and so avoid costly mistakes.

The ability to generate a forecast is the start point for any planning process. From forecasts are derived the appropriate levels of stock and purchase orders. The most common methods of forecasting are:

Statistical: algorithims are used by a software package to predict future demand based on sales history.

Manual: a planner develops a forecast based on history, sales forecasts and market intelligence.

Collaborative: The planning team work with the sales team and customers to agree a forecast which gets closest to reality and work together month on month to improve it.

We can provide forecasting software such as Optimiza and ODP to help manage the process and support ongoing improvements. We are authorised implementation partners to Barloworld for these products. Sometimes software is not the solution so we help you keep an open mind to identify the right way forward.

If you already have a forecasting process but suffer from poor results then we can help you assess how improvements can be made. We are able to analyse data from your systems and review your existing process to uncover the route cause of poor performance.

Remember, the problems experienced in service are not always the result of poor forecasting but driven by any number of other factors. These might include:

• Stocking policy
• Data integrity
• Purchasing parameters
• Supplier performance
• ERP system settings
• Human error!