Forecasting

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.
4 1
Operations
Management
Chapter 4
Forecasting
PowerPoint presentation to accompany
Heizer/Render
Principles of Operations Management, 7e
Operations Management, 9e
2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. 4 2
Outline
Global Company Profile: Disney
World
What Is Forecasting?
Forecasting Time Horizons
The Influence of Product Life Cycle
Types Of Forecasts
Outline Continued
The Strategic Importance of
Forecasting
Human Resources
Capacity
Supply Chain Management
Seven Steps in the Forecasting
System
Outline Continued
Forecasting Approaches
Overview of Qualitative Methods
Overview of Quantitative Methods
Outline Continued
Time-Series Forecasting
Decomposition of a Time Series
Naive Approach
Moving Averages
Exponential Smoothing
Exponential Smoothing with Trend
Adjustment
Trend Projections
Seasonal Variations in Data
Cyclical Variations in Data
Outline Continued
Associative Forecasting Methods:
Regression and Correlation
Analysis
Using Regression Analysis for
Forecasting
Standard Error of the Estimate
Correlation Coefficients for
Regression Lines
Multiple-Regression Analysis
Outline Continued
Monitoring and Controlling
Forecasts
Adaptive Smoothing
Focus Forecasting
Forecasting In The Service Sector
Learning Objectives
When you complete this chapter you
should be able to :
Understand the three time horizons and
which models apply for each use
Explain when to use each of the four
qualitative models
Apply the naive, moving average,
exponential smoothing, and trend
methods
Learning Objectives
When you complete this chapter you
should be able to :
Compute three measures of forecast
accuracy
Develop seasonal indexes
Conduct a regression and correlation
analysis
Use a tracking signal
Forecasting at Disney World
Global portfolio includes parks in Hong
Kong, Paris, Tokyo, Orlando, and
Anaheim
Revenues are derived from people how
many visitors and how they spend their
money
Daily management report contains only
the forecast and actual attendance at
each park
Disney generates daily, weekly, monthly,
annual, and 5-year forecasts
Forecast used by labor management,
maintenance, operations, finance, and
park scheduling
Forecast used to adjust opening times,
rides, shows, staffing levels, and guests
admitted
20% of customers come from outside the
USA
Economic model includes gross
domestic product, cross-exchange rates,
arrivals into the USA
A staff of 35 analysts and 70 field people
survey 1 million park guests, employees,
and travel professionals each year
Inputs to the forecasting model include
airline specials, Federal Reserve
policies, Wall Street trends,
vacation/holiday schedules for 3,000
school districts around the world
Average forecast error for the 5-year
forecast is 5%
Average forecast error for annual
forecasts is between 0% and 3%
What is Forecasting?
Process of
predicting a future
event
Underlying basis of
all business
decisions
Production
Inventory
Personnel
Facilities
??
Short-range forecast
Up to 1 year, generally less than 3 months
Purchasing, job scheduling, workforce
levels, job assignments, production levels
Medium-range forecast
3 months to 3 years
Sales and production planning, budgeting
Long-range forecast
3
+
years
New product planning, facility location,
research and development
Forecasting Time Horizons
Distinguishing Differences
Medium/long range forecasts deal with
more comprehensive issues and support
management decisions regarding
planning and products, plants and
processes
Short-term forecasting usually employs
different methodologies than longer-term
forecasting
Short-term forecasts tend to be more
accurate than longer-term forecasts
Influence of Product Life
Cycle
Introduction and growth require longer
forecasts than maturity and decline
As product passes through life cycle,
forecasts are useful in projecting
Staffing levels
Inventory levels
Factory capacity
Introduction Growth Maturity Decline
Product Life Cycle
Best period to
increase market
share

R&D engineering is
critical
Practical to change
price or quality
image

Strengthen niche
Poor time to
change image,
price, or quality

Competitive costs
become critical
Defend market
position
Cost control
critical
C
o
m
p
a
n
y

S
t
r
a
t
e
g
y
/
I
s
s
u
e
s

Figure 2.5
Internet search engines
Sales
Xbox 360
Drive-through
restaurants
CD-ROMs
3 1/2
Floppy
disks
LCD & plasma TVs
Analog TVs
iPods
Product Life Cycle
Product design
and
development
critical
Frequent
product and
process design
changes
Short production
runs
High production
costs
Limited models
Attention to
quality
O
M

S
t
r
a
t
e
g
y
/
I
s
s
u
e
s

Forecasting
critical
Product and
process
reliability
Competitive
product
improvements
and options
Increase capacity
Shift toward
product focus
Enhance
distribution
Standardization
Less rapid
product changes
more minor
changes
Optimum
capacity
Increasing
stability of
process
Long production
runs
Product
improvement
and cost cutting
Little product
differentiation
Cost
minimization
Overcapacity
in the
industry
Prune line to
eliminate
items not
returning
good margin
Reduce
capacity
Figure 2.5
Types of Forecasts
Economic forecasts
Address business cycle inflation rate,
money supply, housing starts, etc.
Technological forecasts
Predict rate of technological progress
Impacts development of new products
Demand forecasts
Predict sales of existing products and
services
Strategic Importance of
Forecasting
Human Resources Hiring, training,
laying off workers
Capacity Capacity shortages can
result in undependable delivery, loss
of customers, loss of market share
Supply Chain Management Good
supplier relations and price
advantages
Seven Steps in Forecasting
Determine the use of the forecast
Select the items to be forecasted
Determine the time horizon of the
forecast
Select the forecasting model(s)
Gather the data
Make the forecast
Validate and implement results
The Realities!
Forecasts are seldom perfect
Most techniques assume an
underlying stability in the system
Product family and aggregated
forecasts are more accurate than
individual product forecasts
Used when situation is vague
and little data exist
New products
New technology
Involves intuition, experience
e.g., forecasting sales on Internet
Qualitative Methods
Used when situation is stable and
historical data exist
Existing products
Current technology
Involves mathematical techniques
e.g., forecasting sales of color
televisions
Quantitative Methods
Overview of Qualitative
Methods
J ury of executive opinion
Pool opinions of high-level experts,
sometimes augment by statistical
models
Delphi method
Panel of experts, queried iteratively
Overview of Qualitative
Methods
Sales force composite
Estimates from individual
salespersons are reviewed for
reasonableness, then aggregated
Consumer Market Survey
Ask the customer
Involves small group of high-level experts
and managers
Group estimates demand by working
together
Combines managerial experience with
statistical models
Relatively quick
Group-think
disadvantage
J ury of Executive Opinion
Sales Force Composite
Each salesperson projects his or
her sales
Combined at district and national
levels
Sales reps know customers wants
Tends to be overly optimistic
Delphi Method
Iterative group
process,
continues until
consensus is
reached
3 types of
participants
Decision makers
Staff
Respondents
Staff
(Administering
survey)
Decision Makers
(Evaluate
responses and
make decisions)
Respondents
(People who can
make valuable
judgments)
Consumer Market Survey
Ask customers about purchasing
plans
What consumers say, and what
they actually do are often different
Sometimes difficult to answer
Overview of Quantitative
Approaches
1. Naive approach
2. Moving averages
3. Exponential
smoothing
4. Trend projection
5. Linear regression
Time-Series
Models
Associative
Model
Set of evenly spaced numerical data
Obtained by observing response
variable at regular time periods
Forecast based only on past values,
no other variables important
Assumes that factors influencing
past and present will continue
influence in future
Time Series Forecasting
Trend
Seasonal
Cyclical
Random
Time Series Components
Components of Demand
D
e
m
a
n
d

f
o
r

p
r
o
d
u
c
t

o
r

s
e
r
v
i
c
e

| | | |
1 2 3 4
Year
Average
demand over
four years
Seasonal peaks
Trend
component
Actual
demand
Random
variation
Figure 4.1
Persistent, overall upward or
downward pattern
Changes due to population,
technology, age, culture, etc.
Typically several years
duration
Trend Component
Regular pattern of up and
down fluctuations
Due to weather, customs, etc.
Occurs within a single year
Seasonal Component
Number of
Period Length Seasons
Week Day 7
Month Week 4-4.5
Month Day 28-31
Year Quarter 4
Year Month 12
Year Week 52
Repeating up and down movements
Affected by business cycle, political,
and economic factors
Multiple years duration
Often causal or
associative
relationships
Cyclical Component
0 5 10 15 20
Erratic, unsystematic, residual
fluctuations
Due to random variation or
unforeseen events
Short duration and
nonrepeating
Random Component
M T W T F
Naive Approach
Assumes demand in next
period is the same as
demand in most recent period
e.g., If J anuary sales were 68, then
February sales will be 68
Sometimes cost effective and
efficient
Can be good starting point
MA is a series of arithmetic means
Used if little or no trend
Used often for smoothing
Provides overall impression of data
over time
Moving Average Method
Moving average =
demand in previous n periods
n
J anuary 10
February 12
March 13
April 16
May 19
J une 23
J uly 26

Actual 3-Month
Month Shed Sales Moving Average

(12 + 13 + 16)/3 = 13
2
/
3

(13 + 16 + 19)/3 = 16
(16 + 19 + 23)/3 = 19
1
/
3
Moving Average Example
10
12
13
(10 + 12 + 13)/3 = 11
2
/
3
Graph of Moving Average
| | | | | | | | | | | |
J F M A M J J A S O N D
S
h
e
d

S
a
l
e
s

30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
Actual
Sales
Moving
Average
Forecast
Used when trend is present
Older data usually less important
Weights based on experience and
intuition
Weighted Moving Average
Weighted
moving average
=
(weight for period n)
x (demand in period n)
weights
J anuary 10
February 12
March 13
April 16
May 19
J une 23
J uly 26

Actual 3-Month Weighted
Month Shed Sales Moving Average

[(3 x 16) + (2 x 13) + (12)]/6 = 14
1
/
3

[(3 x 19) + (2 x 16) + (13)]/6 = 17
[(3 x 23) + (2 x 19) + (16)]/6 = 20
1
/
2
10
12
13
[(3 x 13) + (2 x 12) + (10)]/6 = 12
1
/
6

Weights Applied Period
3 Last month
2 Two months ago
1 Three months ago
6 Sum of weights
Increasing n smooths the forecast
but makes it less sensitive to
changes
Do not forecast trends well
Require extensive historical data
Potential Problems With
Moving Average
Moving Average And
30
25
20
15
10
5
S
a
l
e
s

d
e
m
a
n
d

| | | | | | | | | | | |
Actual
sales
Moving
average
Weighted
moving
average
Figure 4.2
Form of weighted moving average
Weights decline exponentially
Most recent data weighted most
Requires smoothing constant ()
Ranges from 0 to 1
Subjectively chosen
Involves little record keeping of past
data
New forecast = Last periods forecast
+ (Last periods actual demand
Last periods forecast)
F
t
= F
t 1
+ (A
t 1
- F
t 1
)
where F
t
= new forecast
F
t 1
= previous forecast
= smoothing (or weighting)
constant (0 1)
Example
Predicted demand = 142 Ford Mustangs
Actual demand = 153
Smoothing constant = .20
Example
Actual demand = 153
New forecast = 142 + .2(153 142)

Example
Actual demand = 153
New forecast = 142 + .2(153 142)
= 142 + 2.2
= 144.2 144 cars
Effect of
Smoothing Constants
Weight Assigned to
Most 2nd Most 3rd Most 4th Most 5th Most
Recent Recent Recent Recent Recent
Smoothing Period Period Period Period Period
Constant () (1 - ) (1 - )
2
(1 - )
3
(1 - )
4

= .1 .1 .09 .081 .073 .066

= .5 .5 .25 .125 .063 .031
Impact of Different
225
200
175
150
| | | | | | | | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Quarter
D
e
m
a
n
d

= .1
Actual
demand
= .5
Impact of Different
225
200
175
150
| | | | | | | | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Quarter
D
e
m
a
n
d

= .1
Actual
demand
= .5
Chose high values of
when underlying average
is likely to change
Choose low values of
when underlying average
is stable
Choosing
The objective is to obtain the most
accurate forecast no matter the
technique
We generally do this by selecting the
model that gives us the lowest forecast
error
Forecast error = Actual demand - Forecast value
= A
t
- F
t

Common Measures of Error
Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD)
MAD =
|Actual - Forecast|
n
Mean Squared Error (MSE)
MSE =
(Forecast Errors)
2

n
Common Measures of Error
Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE)
MAPE =
100|Actual
i
- Forecast
i
|/Actual
i

n
n
i = 1
Comparison of Forecast
Error
Rounded Absolute Rounded Absolute
Actual Forecast Deviation Forecast Deviation
Tonnage with for with for
Quarter Unloaded = .10 = .10 = .50 = .50
1 180 175 5.00 175 5.00
2 168 175.5 7.50 177.50 9.50
3 159 174.75 15.75 172.75 13.75
4 175 173.18 1.82 165.88 9.12
5 190 173.36 16.64 170.44 19.56
6 205 175.02 29.98 180.22 24.78
7 180 178.02 1.98 192.61 12.61
8 182 178.22 3.78 186.30 4.30
82.45 98.62

Error
1 180 175 5.00 175 5.00
2 168 175.5 7.50 177.50 9.50
3 159 174.75 15.75 172.75 13.75
4 175 173.18 1.82 165.88 9.12
5 190 173.36 16.64 170.44 19.56
6 205 175.02 29.98 180.22 24.78
7 180 178.02 1.98 192.61 12.61
8 182 178.22 3.78 186.30 4.30
82.45 98.62

MAD =
|deviations|
n
= 82.45/8 = 10.31
For = .10
= 98.62/8 = 12.33
For = .50
Error
1 180 175 5.00 175 5.00
2 168 175.5 7.50 177.50 9.50
3 159 174.75 15.75 172.75 13.75
4 175 173.18 1.82 165.88 9.12
5 190 173.36 16.64 170.44 19.56
6 205 175.02 29.98 180.22 24.78
7 180 178.02 1.98 192.61 12.61
8 182 178.22 3.78 186.30 4.30
82.45 98.62
MAD 10.31 12.33

= 1,526.54/8 = 190.82
For = .10
= 1,561.91/8 = 195.24
For = .50
MSE =
(forecast errors)
2

n
Error
1 180 175 5.00 175 5.00
2 168 175.5 7.50 177.50 9.50
3 159 174.75 15.75 172.75 13.75
4 175 173.18 1.82 165.88 9.12
5 190 173.36 16.64 170.44 19.56
6 205 175.02 29.98 180.22 24.78
7 180 178.02 1.98 192.61 12.61
8 182 178.22 3.78 186.30 4.30
82.45 98.62
MAD 10.31 12.33
MSE 190.82 195.24

= 44.75/8 = 5.59%
For = .10
= 54.05/8 = 6.76%
For = .50
MAPE =
100|deviation
i
|/actual
i

n
n
i = 1
Error
1 180 175 5.00 175 5.00
2 168 175.5 7.50 177.50 9.50
3 159 174.75 15.75 172.75 13.75
4 175 173.18 1.82 165.88 9.12
5 190 173.36 16.64 170.44 19.56
6 205 175.02 29.98 180.22 24.78
7 180 178.02 1.98 192.61 12.61
8 182 178.22 3.78 186.30 4.30
82.45 98.62
MAD 10.31 12.33
MSE 190.82 195.24
MAPE 5.59% 6.76%
Exponential Smoothing with
Trend Adjustment
When a trend is present, exponential
smoothing must be modified
Forecast
including (FIT
t
) =
trend
Exponentially Exponentially
smoothed (F
t
) + (T
t
) smoothed
forecast trend
Trend Adjustment
F
t
= (A
t - 1
) + (1 - )(F
t - 1
+ T
t - 1
)
T
t
= b(F
t
- F
t - 1
) + (1 - b)T
t - 1

Step 1: Compute F
t

Step 2: Compute T
t

Step 3: Calculate the forecast FIT
t
= F
t
+ T
t

Trend Adjustment Example
Forecast
Actual Smoothed Smoothed Including
Month(t) Demand (A
t
) Forecast, F
t
Trend, T
t
Trend, FIT
t

1 12 11 2 13.00
2 17
3 20
4 19
5 24
6 21
7 31
8 28
9 36
10
Table 4.1
Forecast
Month(t) Demand (A
t
) Forecast, F
t
Trend, T
t
Trend, FIT
t

1 12 11 2 13.00
2 17
3 20
4 19
5 24
6 21
7 31
8 28
9 36
10
Table 4.1
F
2
= A
1
+ (1 - )(F
1
+ T
1
)
F
2
= (.2)(12) + (1 - .2)(11 + 2)
= 2.4 + 10.4 = 12.8 units
Step 1: Forecast for Month 2
Forecast
Month(t) Demand (A
t
) Forecast, F
t
Trend, T
t
Trend, FIT
t

1 12 11 2 13.00
2 17 12.80
3 20
4 19
5 24
6 21
7 31
8 28
9 36
10
Table 4.1
T
2
= b(F
2
- F
1
) + (1 - b)T
1

T
2
= (.4)(12.8 - 11) + (1 - .4)(2)
= .72 + 1.2 = 1.92 units
Step 2: Trend for Month 2
Forecast
Month(t) Demand (A
t
) Forecast, F
t
Trend, T
t
Trend, FIT
t

1 12 11 2 13.00
2 17 12.80 1.92
3 20
4 19
5 24
6 21
7 31
8 28
9 36
10
Table 4.1
FIT
2
= F
2
+ T
1

FIT
2
= 12.8 + 1.92
= 14.72 units
Step 3: Calculate FIT for Month 2
Forecast
Month(t) Demand (A
t
) Forecast, F
t
Trend, T
t
Trend, FIT
t

1 12 11 2 13.00
2 17 12.80 1.92 14.72
3 20
4 19
5 24
6 21
7 31
8 28
9 36
10
Table 4.1

15.18 2.10 17.28
17.82 2.32 20.14
19.91 2.23 22.14
22.51 2.38 24.89
24.11 2.07 26.18
27.14 2.45 29.59
29.28 2.32 31.60
32.48 2.68 35.16
Figure 4.3
| | | | | | | | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Time (month)
P
r
o
d
u
c
t

d
e
m
a
n
d

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Actual demand (A
t
)
Forecast including trend (FIT
t
)
with = .2 and b = .4
Trend Projections
Fitting a trend line to historical data points
to project into the medium to long-range
Linear trends can be found using the least
squares technique
y = a + bx
^
where y = computed value of the variable to
be predicted (dependent variable)
a = y-axis intercept
b = slope of the regression line
x = the independent variable
^
Least Squares Method
Time period
V
a
l
u
e
s

o
f

D
e
p
e
n
d
e
n
t

V
a
r
i
a
b
l
e

Figure 4.4
Deviation
1

(error)
Deviation
5

Deviation
7

Deviation
2

Deviation
6

Deviation
4

Deviation
3

Actual observation
(y value)
Trend line, y = a + bx
^
Time period
V
a
l
u
e
s

o
f

D
e
p
e
n
d
e
n
t

V
a
r
i
a
b
l
e

Figure 4.4
Deviation
1

Deviation
5

Deviation
7

Deviation
2

Deviation
6

Deviation
4

Deviation
3

Actual observation
(y value)
Trend line, y = a + bx
^
Least squares method
minimizes the sum of the
squared errors (deviations)
Equations to calculate the regression variables
b =
Sxy - nxy
Sx
2
- nx
2

y = a + bx
^
a = y - bx
Least Squares Example
b = = = 10.54
xy - nxy
x
2
- nx
2

3,063 - (7)(4)(98.86)
140 - (7)(4
2
)
a = y - bx = 98.86 - 10.54(4) = 56.70
Time Electrical Power
Year Period (x) Demand x
2
xy
2001 1 74 1 74
2002 2 79 4 158
2003 3 80 9 240
2004 4 90 16 360
2005 5 105 25 525
2005 6 142 36 852
2007 7 122 49 854
x = 28 y = 692 x
2
= 140 xy = 3,063
x = 4 y = 98.86
b = = = 10.54
Sxy - nxy
Sx
2
- nx
2

3,063 - (7)(4)(98.86)
140 - (7)(4
2
)
a = y - bx = 98.86 - 10.54(4) = 56.70
Time Electrical Power
Year Period (x) Demand x
2
xy
1999 1 74 1 74
2000 2 79 4 158
2001 3 80 9 240
2002 4 90 16 360
2003 5 105 25 525
2004 6 142 36 852
2005 7 122 49 854
Sx = 28 Sy = 692 Sx
2
= 140 Sxy = 3,063
x = 4 y = 98.86
The trend line is
y = 56.70 + 10.54x
^
| | | | | | | | |
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
160
150
140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
Year
P
o
w
e
r

d
e
m
a
n
d

Trend line,
y = 56.70 + 10.54x
^
Seasonal Variations In Data
The multiplicative
seasonal model
can adjust trend
data for seasonal
variations in
demand
Seasonal Variations In Data
1. Find average historical demand for each
season
2. Compute the average demand over all
seasons
3. Compute a seasonal index for each season
4. Estimate next years total demand
5. Divide this estimate of total demand by the
number of seasons, then multiply it by the
seasonal index for that season
Steps in the process:
Seasonal Index Example
J an 80 85 105 90 94
Feb 70 85 85 80 94
Mar 80 93 82 85 94
Apr 90 95 115 100 94
May 113 125 131 123 94
J un 110 115 120 115 94
J ul 100 102 113 105 94
Aug 88 102 110 100 94
Sept 85 90 95 90 94
Oct 77 78 85 80 94
Nov 75 72 83 80 94
Dec 82 78 80 80 94
Demand Average Average Seasonal
Month 2005 2006 2007 2005-2007 Monthly Index
J an 80 85 105 90 94
Feb 70 85 85 80 94
Mar 80 93 82 85 94
Apr 90 95 115 100 94
May 113 125 131 123 94
J un 110 115 120 115 94
J ul 100 102 113 105 94
Aug 88 102 110 100 94
Sept 85 90 95 90 94
Oct 77 78 85 80 94
Nov 75 72 83 80 94
Dec 82 78 80 80 94
0.957
Seasonal index =
average 2005-2007 monthly demand
average monthly demand
= 90/94 = .957
J an 80 85 105 90 94 0.957
Feb 70 85 85 80 94 0.851
Mar 80 93 82 85 94 0.904
Apr 90 95 115 100 94 1.064
May 113 125 131 123 94 1.309
J un 110 115 120 115 94 1.223
J ul 100 102 113 105 94 1.117
Aug 88 102 110 100 94 1.064
Sept 85 90 95 90 94 0.957
Oct 77 78 85 80 94 0.851
Nov 75 72 83 80 94 0.851
Dec 82 78 80 80 94 0.851
J an 80 85 105 90 94 0.957
Feb 70 85 85 80 94 0.851
Mar 80 93 82 85 94 0.904
Apr 90 95 115 100 94 1.064
May 113 125 131 123 94 1.309
J un 110 115 120 115 94 1.223
J ul 100 102 113 105 94 1.117
Aug 88 102 110 100 94 1.064
Sept 85 90 95 90 94 0.957
Oct 77 78 85 80 94 0.851
Nov 75 72 83 80 94 0.851
Dec 82 78 80 80 94 0.851
Expected annual demand = 1,200
J an x .957 = 96
1,200
12
Feb x .851 = 85
1,200
12
Forecast for 2008
140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Time
D
e
m
a
n
d

2008 Forecast
2007 Demand
2006 Demand
2005 Demand
San Diego Hospital
10,200
10,000
9,800
9,600
9,400
9,200
9,000
| | | | | | | | | | | |
J an Feb Mar Apr May J une J uly Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78
Month
I
n
p
a
t
i
e
n
t

D
a
y
s

9530
9551
9573
9594
9616
9637
9659
9680
9702
9724
9745
9766
Figure 4.6
Trend Data
San Diego Hospital
1.06
1.04
1.02
1.00
0.98
0.96
0.94
0.92
| | | | | | | | | | | |
67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78
Month
I
n
d
e
x

f
o
r

I
n
p
a
t
i
e
n
t

D
a
y
s

1.04
1.02
1.01
0.99
1.03
1.04
1.00
0.98
0.97
0.99
0.97
0.96
Figure 4.7
Seasonal Indices
San Diego Hospital
10,200
10,000
9,800
9,600
9,400
9,200
9,000
| | | | | | | | | | | |
67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78
Month
I
n
p
a
t
i
e
n
t

D
a
y
s

Figure 4.8
9911
9265
9764
9520
9691
9411
9949
9724
9542
9355
10068
9572
Combined Trend and Seasonal Forecast
Associative Forecasting
Used when changes in one or more
independent variables can be used to predict
the changes in the dependent variable
Most common technique is linear
regression analysis
We apply this technique just as we did
in the time series example
Forecasting an outcome based on
predictor variables using the least squares
technique
y = a + bx
^
where y = computed value of the variable to
be predicted (dependent variable)
a = y-axis intercept
b = slope of the regression line
x = the independent variable though to
predict the value of the dependent
variable
^
Example
Sales Local Payroll
($ millions), y ($ billions), x
2.0 1
3.0 3
2.5 4
2.0 2
2.0 1
3.5 7
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0

| | | | | | |
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
S
a
l
e
s

Area payroll
Example
Sales, y Payroll, x x
2
xy
2.0 1 1 2.0
3.0 3 9 9.0
2.5 4 16 10.0
2.0 2 4 4.0
2.0 1 1 2.0
3.5 7 49 24.5
y = 15.0 x = 18 x
2
= 80 xy = 51.5
x = x/6 = 18/6 = 3
y = y/6 = 15/6 = 2.5
b = = = .25
xy - nxy
x
2
- nx
2

51.5 - (6)(3)(2.5)
80 - (6)(3
2
)
a = y - bx = 2.5 - (.25)(3) = 1.75
Example
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0

| | | | | | |
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
S
a
l
e
s

Area payroll
y = 1.75 + .25x
^
Sales = 1.75 + .25(payroll)
If payroll next year
is estimated to be
$6 billion, then:
Sales = 1.75 + .25(6)
Sales = $3,250,000
3.25
Standard Error of the
Estimate
A forecast is just a point estimate of a
future value
This point is
actually the
mean of a
probability
distribution
Figure 4.9
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0

| | | | | | |
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
S
a
l
e
s

Area payroll
3.25
Estimate
where y = y-value of each data point
y
c
= computed value of the dependent
variable, from the regression
equation
n = number of data points
S
y,x
=
(y - y
c
)
2

n - 2
Estimate
Computationally, this equation is
considerably easier to use
We use the standard error to set up
prediction intervals around the
point estimate
S
y,x
=
y
2
- ay - bxy
n - 2
Estimate
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0

| | | | | | |
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
S
a
l
e
s

Area payroll
3.25
S
y,x
= =
y
2
- ay - bxy
n - 2
39.5 - 1.75(15) - .25(51.5)
6 - 2
S
y,x
= .306
The standard error
of the estimate is
$306,000 in sales
How strong is the linear
relationship between the variables?
Correlation does not necessarily
imply causality!
Coefficient of correlation, r,
measures degree of association
Values range from -1 to +1
Correlation
Correlation Coefficient
r =
nSxy - SxSy
[nSx
2
- (Sx)
2
][nSy
2
- (Sy)
2
]
Correlation Coefficient
r =
nSxy - SxSy
[nSx
2
- (Sx)
2
][nSy
2
- (Sy)
2
]
y
x
(a) Perfect positive
correlation:
r = +1
y
x
(b) Positive
correlation:
0 < r <1
y
x
(c) No correlation:
r =0
y
x
(d) Perfect negative
correlation:
r = -1
Coefficient of Determination, r
2
,
measures the percent of change in
y predicted by the change in x
Values range from 0 to 1
Easy to interpret
Correlation
For the Nodel Construction example:
r = .901
r
2
= .81
Multiple Regression
Analysis
If more than one independent variable is to be
used in the model, linear regression can be
extended to multiple regression to
accommodate several independent variables
y = a + b
1
x
1
+ b
2
x
2

^
Computationally, this is quite
complex and generally done on the
computer
Multiple Regression
Analysis
y = 1.80 + .30x
1
- 5.0x
2

^
In the Nodel example, including interest rates in
the model gives the new equation:
An improved correlation coefficient of r = .96
means this model does a better job of predicting
the change in construction sales
Sales = 1.80 + .30(6) - 5.0(.12) = 3.00
Sales = $3,000,000
Measures how well the forecast is
predicting actual values
Ratio of running sum of forecast errors
(RSFE) to mean absolute deviation (MAD)
Good tracking signal has low values
If forecasts are continually high or low, the
forecast has a bias error
Forecasts
Tracking Signal
Forecasts
Tracking
signal
RSFE
MAD
=
Tracking
signal
=
(Actual demand in
period i -
Forecast demand
in period i)
(|Actual - Forecast|/n)
Tracking Signal
Tracking signal
+
0 MADs

Upper control limit
Lower control limit
Time
Signal exceeding limit
Acceptable
range
Tracking Signal Example
Cumulative
Absolute Absolute
Actual Forecast Forecast Forecast
Qtr Demand Demand Error RSFE Error Error MAD
1 90 100 -10 -10 10 10 10.0
2 95 100 -5 -15 5 15 7.5
3 115 100 +15 0 15 30 10.0
4 100 110 -10 -10 10 40 10.0
5 125 110 +15 +5 15 55 11.0
6 140 110 +30 +35 30 85 14.2
Cumulative
Absolute Absolute
Actual Forecast Forecast Forecast
Qtr Demand Demand Error RSFE Error Error MAD
1 90 100 -10 -10 10 10 10.0
2 95 100 -5 -15 5 15 7.5
3 115 100 +15 0 15 30 10.0
4 100 110 -10 -10 10 40 10.0
5 125 110 +15 +5 15 55 11.0
6 140 110 +30 +35 30 85 14.2
Tracking Signal Example
Tracking
Signal
(RSFE/MAD)
-10/10 = -1
-15/7.5 = -2
0/10 = 0
-10/10 = -1
+5/11 = +0.5
+35/14.2 = +2.5
The variation of the tracking signal
between -2.0 and +2.5 is within acceptable
limits
Adaptive Forecasting
Its possible to use the computer to
continually monitor forecast error and
adjust the values of the and b
coefficients used in exponential
smoothing to continually minimize
forecast error
This technique is called adaptive
smoothing
Focus Forecasting
Developed at American Hardware Supply,
focus forecasting is based on two principles:
1. Sophisticated forecasting models are not
always better than simple ones
2. There is no single technique that should
be used for all products or services
This approach uses historical data to test
multiple forecasting models for individual items
The forecasting model with the lowest error is
then used to forecast the next demand
Forecasting in the Service
Sector
Presents unusual challenges
Special need for short term records
Needs differ greatly as function of
industry and product
Holidays and other calendar events
Unusual events
Fast Food Restaurant
Forecast
20%
15%
10%
5%
11-12 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10
12-1 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11
(Lunchtime) (Dinnertime)
Hour of day
P
e
r
c
e
n
t
a
g
e

o
f

s
a
l
e
s

Figure 4.12
FedEx Call Center Forecast
Figure 4.12
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%

Hour of day
A.M. P.M.
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

Forecasting

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