Read this article where forecasting approaches, along with a hybrid forecasting method are covered. What types of data can a company use in quantitative forecasts?
Results and Discussion
Sales Forecast using 2-Month Moving Average Method
The study used 2-month moving average method to be able to even out the peak and valley in the sales figures for two months which tends to generate better forecast as indicated in table 2. Also, the accuracy of the forecasting method was evaluated as represented in table 2.
Table 2. Actual and Forecasts using 2-Month Moving Average Method
Month (x) | Actual sales (y) (million) | Forecast | IEI | IEI2 | E/Y x100 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 25 | - | - | - | |
2 | 29 | - | - | - | |
3 | 28 | 24.5 | 3.5 | 12.25 | 12.5 |
4 | 35 | 28.5 | 6.5 | 42.25 | 18.57 |
5 | 33 | 31.5 | 1.5 | 2.25 | 4.55 |
6 | 32 | 34 | 2 | 4 | 6.25 |
7 | 36 | 32.5 | 3.5 | 12.25 | 9.72 |
8 | 41 | 34 | 7 | 49 | 17.07 |
9 | 45 | 38.5 | 6.5 | 42.25 | 14.44 |
10 | 20 | 43 | 23 | 529 | 115 |
11 | 23 | 32.5 | 9.5 | 90.25 | 41.30 |
12 | 15 | 21.5 | 6.5 | 12.25 | 43.33 |
The forecast accuracy performance measures are:
\(\mathrm{MAD}=\Sigma / \mathrm{E} / / \mathrm{T}=69.5 / 12=5.79, \mathrm{MSE}=\Sigma / \mathrm{E} /{ }^{2} \mathrm{~T}=795.75 / 12=66.31\)
MAPE = (Absolute error / Actual Observed Value) × 1 00 = 282.73/12= 23.56.