The Forecast Tool allows Importers and Exporters the ability to forecast out the availability of inventory up to a year in advance. This tool was modeled to consider:
Long lead times associated with production and shipping from overseas suppliers-Planning is needed to account for the production time, container consolidation (if needed), ocean freight, and drayage to bring goods in. If you are looking to meet future customer demand then you will need visibility into both sides of the transactions months into the future.
Blanket order purchases where the company may purchase large quantities which will ship in multiple shipments over the course of many weeks or months-In some cases, it makes sense for a purchase to be spread out over several months as goods are produced and shipped. The tool assists in providing a visual representation of how these shipments will arrve and the impact that will have on the overall inventory position.
Pre-allocation and allocation of purchased material to fill customer orders-The system allows for users to start pre-selling goods as soon as they are purchased. This may include Purchases in production, loaded onto containers, on the water or goods in the warehouse. Pre-allocated shipments will appear in the tool highlighted to indicate that those quantities are not available to sell to other customers. The user also has the ability to hide all pre-allocated shipments to remove these from the inventory position forecast.
Monthly or Weekly scheduling-While some users may do their shipment planning on a weekly basis, others may be satisfied to only view the position on a monthly basis. By applying filters, users can easily toggle between either view.
