Forecasting Model for Sporadic Distributor-Based Market

With the evolution of technology, more data became available to observe consumer purchase patterns. Traditional forecast methods used to rely on only shipment history. Nonetheless, due to the accessibility of consumer data, a forecast process that integrates downstream flow has shown good results...

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Main Authors: Elazzamy, Ahmed, Park, Stanley
Published: 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121303
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author Elazzamy, Ahmed
Park, Stanley
author_facet Elazzamy, Ahmed
Park, Stanley
author_sort Elazzamy, Ahmed
collection MIT
description With the evolution of technology, more data became available to observe consumer purchase patterns. Traditional forecast methods used to rely on only shipment history. Nonetheless, due to the accessibility of consumer data, a forecast process that integrates downstream flow has shown good results in improving the forecast accuracy in supply chains. In this research we investigate the benefits and validity of linking downstream distributor data in a fast-moving consumer goods company to improve forecast accuracy for intermittent demand. We used multi-tier regression analysis to link distributor sellout data to a retailer in order to predict shipment volume, and then performed a comparison analysis using the Croston method. We concluded that using multi-tier regression analysis has made a slight improvement on an aggregated level; however, the success of this method is subject to data availability that could be a constraint in certain situations. The Croston method has shown significant improvements at the item level and helped to better stabilize the forecast, yet it doesn't consider downstream data. We show a comparison between the two methods, and how to primarily link distributor data in the company's forecast to improve forecast accuracy.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1213032019-06-15T03:01:18Z Forecasting Model for Sporadic Distributor-Based Market Elazzamy, Ahmed Park, Stanley Demand Planning Forecasting With the evolution of technology, more data became available to observe consumer purchase patterns. Traditional forecast methods used to rely on only shipment history. Nonetheless, due to the accessibility of consumer data, a forecast process that integrates downstream flow has shown good results in improving the forecast accuracy in supply chains. In this research we investigate the benefits and validity of linking downstream distributor data in a fast-moving consumer goods company to improve forecast accuracy for intermittent demand. We used multi-tier regression analysis to link distributor sellout data to a retailer in order to predict shipment volume, and then performed a comparison analysis using the Croston method. We concluded that using multi-tier regression analysis has made a slight improvement on an aggregated level; however, the success of this method is subject to data availability that could be a constraint in certain situations. The Croston method has shown significant improvements at the item level and helped to better stabilize the forecast, yet it doesn't consider downstream data. We show a comparison between the two methods, and how to primarily link distributor data in the company's forecast to improve forecast accuracy. 2019-06-14T21:25:15Z 2019-06-14T21:25:15Z 2019 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121303 application/pdf
spellingShingle Demand Planning
Forecasting
Elazzamy, Ahmed
Park, Stanley
Forecasting Model for Sporadic Distributor-Based Market
title Forecasting Model for Sporadic Distributor-Based Market
title_full Forecasting Model for Sporadic Distributor-Based Market
title_fullStr Forecasting Model for Sporadic Distributor-Based Market
title_full_unstemmed Forecasting Model for Sporadic Distributor-Based Market
title_short Forecasting Model for Sporadic Distributor-Based Market
title_sort forecasting model for sporadic distributor based market
topic Demand Planning
Forecasting
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121303
work_keys_str_mv AT elazzamyahmed forecastingmodelforsporadicdistributorbasedmarket
AT parkstanley forecastingmodelforsporadicdistributorbasedmarket