Forecasting Managers have the complicated and virtually impossible task of predicting the future performance of their products. There are so many causal factors that come into play - temperature shifts, competitive promotions, hurricanes, labor strikes - that it is virtually impossible to be 100% accurate.

Traditionally, forecasts have been generated in monthly time frames and based on shipments to a retailer. Within that month planning window, demand variations can occur that go unnoticed and undocumented. And then the dreaded bullwhip effect take place that further exasperates forecast inaccuracies by latently reacting to a demand surge that has already passed causing excess inventory, markdowns and potential loss of shelf space.

With Velocity, the forecasting baseline shifts from monthly to as low as daily. With this increased frequency of POS and retailer inventory updates, forecasting has no choice but to be more accurate. Combining this information with internal inventories and production forecasts provides a pure end-to-end view of your demand chain enabling a true consumer-driven supply chain (CDSN).

Along with the improved update frequency, POS tracked at store-level, instead of chain-level, also creates opportunities by unmasking any geographic variations. What if Florida was selling ten times the volume of Texas? Would the forecast account for that and ensure Florida had the supply it needed?

Velocity enables the forecasting window to be converted from chain-level to DC or store-level. In the past, technology didn't allow for this precision due to the volume of data points, however, today it is a reality and available. If With this lower granularity, forecasting has no choice, but to be more accurate.

Velocity provides forecasters with the continuous visibility they need to improve their forecasts through accurate and granular data and specific exception reports. Here are just a few samples from Velocity's best practices library.

• Sales Forecast vs. Actual
• Budget Goals vs. Actual
• Retailer Forecast vs. Internal Forecast (CPFR comparison)
• Deasonalized Demand (DD) TY vs. LY
• Low Days of Supply
• Safety Stock Alerts
• Ladder Plan Analysis
• Items Below 98% In-Stock
• Frozen DD Exception
• Potential Lost Sales
• Zero Sales by Forecast Zone