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Procedure documentationManaging Forecasts Locate this document in the navigation structure

 

In many cases, production companies receive sales orders on short notice. However, the production process might take a great deal of time. As a result, it is common for these companies to plan their purchasing and production in advance, even before they receive actual sales orders. This is the goal of a forecast. A forecast is designed to serve as an additional requirement. Therefore, the goods are produced based on the forecast, and when the actual sales orders are received, the company is able to supply the order quickly.

SAP Business One lets you generate forecasts based on historical sales records or manually entered forecast quantities. You can then use the forecasts as an additional data source for the MRP calculation.

Note Note

Although there is no restriction on the number of forecasts you can define, you can select only one forecast for a single MRP scenario. For more information, see Running MRP - General Process, Prerequisites, and Procedure.

End of the note.

To add, duplicate, update, or delete a MRP forecast, from the SAP Business One Main Menu, choose   MRP   Forecasts   and proceed as follows:

Note Note

You cannot change the view once you have saved the forecast.

End of the note.

In MRP calculations, you can consume a forecast using sales orders and blanket agreements. To do so, proceed as follows:

Note Note

To enable the consume forecast function, make sure you have selected the Consume Forecast checkbox on the General Settings: Inventory Tab.

End of the note.

  1. To consume a forecast using sales orders, on the Contents tab of the Sales Order window, select Yes for the Consume Forecast column.

    For more information, see Sales Document: Contents Tab.

  2. To consume a forecast using blanket agreements, in the Blanket Agreement Details window, select the Consume Forecast checkbox. For more information, see Blanket Agreement Details.

    Note Note

    Only the blanket agreements of type Specific can be set to consume a forecast.

    End of the note.

Procedure

Creating Forecasts

  1. Switch to Add mode. For more information, see Working in Add Mode.

  2. Enter the forecast code and name.

  3. Enter the start and end dates for the forecast horizon.

    The date you specify may change in accordance with the value selected in the View field. For examples, see Start Date, End Date in the Forecasts Window.

  4. In the View dropdown list, select a time period to manage the forecast.

    Note Note

    You cannot update the view after adding the forecast.

    End of the note.

    For more information about view options, see View in the Forecasts Window.

  5. Specify one or more items to include in the forecast.

    To specify forecast items and quantities, do one of the following:

    • Manually Define a Forecast

      1. Specify one or more items to include in the forecast.

      2. Enter forecast quantities for each period in the items’ sales units. You can define Sales UoM for items under   Inventory   Item Master Data   Sales Data   Sales UoM  .

        Note Note

        You are not required to enter a value for every period. For example, if you create a weekly forecast for six months, you are not required to enter a quantity for every week.

        End of the note.

    • Automatically Generate a Forecast

      1. In the Forecast window, choose the Generate Forecast button.

        The Generate Forecasts — Set Up window appears.

        Use the selection criteria to filter items to be included in the forecast. You may filter items by Item, preferred Vendor, and default Warehouse.

      2. Click to expand Advanced Settings.

      3. Under Advanced Settings, define the sales records of a period as the calculation basis for the forecast quantity.

        To do so, select the Base on Sales History checkbox and specify the calculation method. Available calculation methods vary in accordance with the definition of the View field. For more information about the calculation algorithm for each option, see Base on Sales History in Generate Forecasts — Set Up Window.

      4. Specify the sales documents to include in the calculation. You may select Sales Orders and Deliveries and A/R Invoice.

        Note Note

        • A/R invoice based on delivery and A/R reserve invoice are not considered.

        • Cancelled documents and reserved invoices are not considered.

        • Only sales documents with posting dates within the range of history start and end dates are considered.

        End of the note.

      5. Specify the History Start Date field and the application automatically calculates the history end date.

        Note Note

        • Make sure you specify a date no later than the forecast Start Date.

        • SAP Business One may adjust your input of History Start Date according to your definition for the forecast View.

        End of the note.

      6. To save data and return to the Forecasts window, choose OK.

        SAP Business One populates this window with items you select and displays the automatically generated forecast quantities for each item in each period.

  6. In some cases, you may want to adjust the forecast quantities by a certain percentage. For example, you generate a forecast based on the sales history of the last three months. But you realize that the forecast period would be the peak period of the year, so you decide to multiply the forecast quantities by 200%. To do so, in the top right corner of the Forecasts window, use Scale Forecast Quantity Up (Scale Forecast Quantity Up) and Scale Forecast Quantity Down (Scale Forecast Quantity Down) to adjust forecast quantities.

    For more information, see Forecast Quantity Adjustment in the Forecasts Window.

  7. To save the forecast changes, choose the Add button.

Duplicating Forecasts

  1. Switch to Find mode. For more information, see Working with Find Mode.

  2. Enter an asterisk * and from the list, select the forecast to duplicate.

  3. From the Data menu, choose the Duplicate button.

Updating Forecasts

  1. Switch to Find mode. For more information, see Working with Find Mode.

  2. Enter an asterisk * and from the list, select the forecast to update.

    The details of the forecast are displayed.

  3. Do one or more of the following, as required:

    • Change the forecast description.

    • Overwrite the dates to change the forecast horizon.

      The period values are deleted and replaced by the new ones.

      Caution Caution

      If you change the range of dates in the Start and End Date fields, the data that does not fall within the range of dates is deleted.

      End of the caution.

    • Update the item record.

      • To display the item master data for the item, in the Item No. field, click Link Arrow (Link Arrow).

      • To overwrite the value in the Item No. field, enter a new item number, or remove the existing value, press TAB, and select a value from the list.

    • Update quantities for each item in each period.

  4. To save the changes, choose the Update button.

  5. To close the window, choose the OK button.

Deleting Forecasts

  1. Switch to Find mode. For more information, see Working with Find Mode.

  2. Enter an asterisk * and from the list, select the forecast to delete.

  3. From the Data menu, choose the Remove button.

    Caution Caution

    You cannot remove a forecast that has been used in a MRP run.

    End of the caution.

More Information

Forecasts Window