Demand and Supply Integration: The Key to World-Class Demand Forecasting (FT Press Operations Management) by Moon Mark A

Author:Moon, Mark A. [Moon, Mark A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pearson Education
Published: 2013-01-13T22:00:00+00:00

5. Incorporating Market Intelligence into the Forecast

As a marketing professor, I am constantly subjected to the good-natured needling from my supply chain management colleagues. One of my favorite Dilbert cartoons constitutes one of their favorite pieces of ammunition. In this strip, Dilbert makes the observation that “Marketing is liquor and guessing.” Well, I made the point in Chapter 2, “Demand Forecasting as a Management Process.” that forecasting is, at its core, guessing about the future. I won’t agree that liquor is involved, but it is certainly the case that the “guessing” that is inherent in demand forecasting can be upgraded to “informed guessing” by the inclusion of market intelligence as a part of the forecasting process. That is the subject of this chapter—what types of market intelligence will benefit the forecasting process, and how that market intelligence can be incorporated effectively. The chapter begins by defining market intelligence, and categorizing the different types of market intelligence that can be helpful to the forecasting process. Companies can benefit from both internal sources of market intelligence—sales and marketing—and external sources of market intelligence—including customers. This chapter explores each of these sources and covers the advantages and risks of incorporating each type of intelligence. The chapter concludes with comments about how to consolidate all these different sources of information, both quantitative and qualitative, into a final forecast.

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