3 Demand Forecasting Myths

1 Since forecasts are always wrong there is no need to forecast.

Inaccurate forecasts can still be useful as long as you treat the result as a guide rather than the gospel. At the very least, having one forecast for the whole company keeps departments from coming up with their own grossly different forecasts.

2 Forecasting requires statistics and math wizards.

While number crunching is important, what will ultimately make or break a forecast is how well you know your customers and the market. That requires a sales force that can both communicate with customers and honestly share that information with the rest of the company.

3 Only the most expensive forecasting software will work.

Contrary to what vendors want you to believe, most forecasting software is pretty much the same. The algorithms have been around for so long now that it is unreasonable to expect that one system’s math is better than another’s. The important thing when choosing demand software is selecting a system that’s robust enough to handle the amount of data that you intend to enter.