Forecast Settings tab

The Forecast Settings tab is used to define the forecast levels enabled for the business area and to determine the date the first forecast period begins. You must enable at least one forecast level to move to the next step in the Initialization Wizard. If no forecast level is enabled, an error message is displayed upon moving to the next step in the wizard.

A Bar chart provides a graphical representation of the forecast levels by indicating the forecast which is generated and used in the Net Forecast.

You must specify this information in the Forecast Settings tab:

Forecast From Date
The date on which the first forecast period begins.
  • If the value is not specified, the SCP application executes in Live mode using the current date for the first day of the forecast period.
  • The forecasts are created automatically at the defined time when the first day of the forecast level is reached based on the system-defined calendar.
Automatic Generation Time (UTC)
The time (UTC) the forecast is generated automatically on the first day of the period in the forecast level.
Note: You must specify a value in this field when the Forecast From Date field value is not specified.
Forecast Level
The name of the Forecast level. Possible values:
  • Freeze Forecast
  • Customer Forecast
  • Tactical Forecast
  • Strategic Forecast
Display Name
The name that is displayed for the forecast level.
Note: If the value is not specified, the Forecast Level is used.
Period Type
The type of period used for the forecast level. Possible values:
  • Days
  • Weeks
  • Months

Each forecast level value must be equal to the Period Type field value or lower than the subsequent forecast level. For example: Freeze ≤ Customer ≤ Tactical ≤ Strategic.

Therefore, the Freeze Forecast and Customer Forecast level values can only be set to Weeks or Days.

Note: 
  • The value cannot be modified for the Tactical Forecast and Strategic Forecast levels.
  • By default, the value is set to Weeks if the Forecast Level is set to Tactical Forecast.
  • By default, the value is set to Months if the Forecast Level is set to Strategic Forecast.
Periods Used

The number of periods at the specified forecast level to use in calculating the consolidated Net forecast value.

Example: If Freeze Forecast is set to 2 weeks, Tactical Forecast to 26 weeks, and Strategic Forecast to 24 months (months =104 weeks), the net forecast is calculated as follows:
  • 2 weeks of Freeze forecast
  • 24 weeks of Tactical forecast (26 - 2)
  • 78 weeks of Strategic forecast (104 - 26)
Note: This value must be lower than the All Periods field value.
All Periods
The total number of periods for which the forecast is generated.
Freeze
Indicates whether the Forecast Level field is set to Freeze.
Note: 
  • The net forecast is converted to the freeze forecast when the system moves forward.
  • The default value is based on the selected forecast level.
Forecast Engine
The forecast engine used for generating forecasts for the selected Period Type.
Data Series
The data series to be selected for the forecast level.
Note: By default, the value is set to Customer Forecast.
Include MI
Indicates whether Market Intelligence is included in the forecast level. Possible values:
  • On: Market Intelligence is included in the Forecast Level.
  • Off: Market Intelligence is not included in the Forecast Level.
Enabled
Indicates whether the forecast level is created and available. Possible values:
  • On: Forecast level is created and available.
  • Off: Forecast level is not created.
Forecast Retention Period
The number of periods for which Forecast level versions are retained. The possible values range from 1 to 13.
Note: The application defaults these values in this field based on the forecast level selected:
  • Periods Used
  • All Periods
  • Manual/Imported Value
  • Include MI
  • Enabled
  • Forecast Retention Period
Publish Daily

Indicates if the daily forecast is published for the selected forecast level. Possible values:

  • On: Daily forecast is published. All levels below the specified forecast level are also set to On. For example, if this switch is set to On at Tactical level, this switch is set to On for Customer and Freeze levels.
  • Off: Daily forecast is not published. All levels above the specified forecast level are also set to Off. For example, if this switch is set to Off at Freeze level, this switch is set to Off for Customer and Tactical levels.
Note: 
  • By default, this switch is set to Off.
  • This switch is set to Off and not available for the Strategic level.
  • The level hierarchy is as follows; Freeze -> Customer -> Tactical -> Strategic.

This table lists the default values for Forecast Settings:

Forecast level Forecast engine Period type Periods used All periods Manual value Include MI Enabled Forecast retention period Data Series
Freeze None Weeks 2 2 No No Yes 13 None
Customer Forecast None Weeks 0 13 No Yes No 13 SCV Customer Forecast
Tactical Best ML Combinations Week Weeks 26 52 No Yes Yes 13 None
Strategic Best ML Combinations Month Months 24 24 No Yes Yes 12 None