Interactive and batch forecasting with ForecastPro ...

Forecast Pro is easy to learn and easy to use. It does not require a background in statistics or forecasting. In fact, in expert selection mode, creating forecasts is literally as easy as clicking a mouse.  

You provide the historic data and Forecast Pro does the rest. The built-in expert selection system analyses your data, selects the appropriate forecasting technique, builds the model and calculates the forecasts--it even explains its reasoning in ordinary English!  

For the more experienced forecaster, Forecast Pro provides complete custom modelling capabilities and the diagnostic tools to get the job done.

Forecast Pro is available in three editions:

Forecast Pro - The Market Leader

Forecast Pro is the clear market leader with over 15,000 companies in 84 countries using the package.  A recent Institute of Business Forecasting survey placed Forecast Pro's market share at 32%, outselling its closest competitor by a margin of over 4 to 1.  Click here to download a pdf version of the IBF Benchmarking Forecasting Software report.
 

Forecast Pro - Proven Accurate

Forecast Pro recently outperformed all other software approaches and 18 out of 19 academic teams in the Makridakis-3 study, the largest and most comprehensive empirical forecasting study ever performed. 

Forecast Pro includes:

An expert system that chooses among the following five classes of forecasting models to satisfy all mainstream business forecasting needs.

• Simple Methods - For very short or extremely volatile data, Forecast Pro includes moving average models.

• Curve Fitting - Provides a quick and easy way to identify the general form of the curve which your data are following.  Forecast Pro supports four types of curves - straight line, quadratic, exponential and growth. (Standard and XE only)

• Low Volume Models - Croston's Intermittent Demand model and discrete data models are provided to accommodate low volume and "sparse" data (i.e., data where the demand is often zero).

• Exponential Smoothing - Twelve different Holt-Winters exponential smoothing models are provided to accommodate a wide range of data characteristics.  The robustness of exponential smoothing makes it ideal when there are no leading indicators, and when the data are too short or volatile for Box-Jenkins.  You can select the model and set the parameters yourself or let Forecast Pro do it automatically.

• Box-Jenkins - For stable data sets, Forecast Pro supports a multiplicative seasonal Box-Jenkins model.  The model can be built completely automatically or interactively using a full range of screen-oriented diagnostics.

Add Your Business Knowledge

Forecast Pro lets you adjust your forecasts on a graph or in a spreadsheet-like display. You can adjust single points, ranges or totals, using percentages, increments or by simply entering new values. If you've defined a multiple level hierarchy, adjusting a value at any given level will automatically adjust all appropriate levels.

Make Convincing Presentations


 

Documenting your work is a snap.  Click the graph icon and a graph of your forecasts, historic data, confidence limits and safety stocks instantly appears.  A few more clicks and you've printed a forecast report and output your forecasts to a spreadsheet, ASCII file or ODBC compliant database.  As you use the product, Forecast Pro's audit trail faithfully records everything.  Each data set, each model, each dialogue with the expert, everything is captured so you have a permanent record of your forecasting session.

Work With Your Existing Data

Forecast Pro imports data in a variety of flexible, easy-to-create formats including Excel and Lotus spreadsheets, ASCII (text) files and ODBC.  These flexible formats allow you to easily import and export data from virtually any source.  There is also an on-line editor to enter your data directly, or to modify and amend files.

For Advanced Forecasting Choose Forecast Pro XE or Forecast Pro Unlimited

Forecast Pro XE and Forecast Pro Unlimited expand the base package's data capacity and add additional methodologies tailored for advanced business needs. Models include:

• Dynamic Regression - If there are important leading indicators or explanatory variables, use Forecast Pro XE to build causal models.  You can include independent variables, lagged or transformed variables and build generalized Cochrane-Orcutt models.  Self-interpreting diagnostics lead you quickly through the model building process. (XE only)

• Event Models - Event models extend exponential smoothing by providing adjustments for events like promotions, strikes or other irregular occurrences.  These can be promotions of different sizes or types, or the effects of moveable holidays like Easter and Rosh Hashanah.  Event models are easy to build and adaptable to a variety of situations.

• Multiple Level Exponential Smoothing - Multiple level models allow you to aggregate data into groups that can be reconciled using a top-down or bottom-up approach to produce consistent forecasts at all levels of aggregation.  There is no limitation on the number of levels.  Seasonal and event indexes can be extracted from higher level aggregates and applied to lower level data.

• Census X-11 - Is used to factor a time series into its major constituents (trend-cycle, seasonal, trading day and irregular).

• Expanded Batch Forecasting - Forecast Pro XE allows you to forecast up to 100 items in a single run.  If you need to forecast hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of items you can do it with Forecast Pro Unlimited.

IF YOU NEED TO....

....THEN YOU NEED FORECAST PRO UNLIMITED
 

Introducing the All New Forecast Pro Unlimited Version 4!

Forecast Pro Unlimited Version 4 is a state-of-the-art forecasting system designed to automate and simplify large-scale forecasting jobs. Forecast Pro Unlimited's expert system takes the guesswork out of forecasting.

Forecast Pro Unlimited uses the same proven univariate methodologies found in our award-winning Forecast Pro XE package (expert selection, moving averages, low volume models, exponential smoothing, Box-Jenkins, event models and multiple level models). You can either specify the methodology or allow the program to choose automatically.

New Interface

A synchronized multiple window interface with an intuitive navigator-style representation of your data makes it easy to drill down into your hierarchy no matter how many items you are working with. As you click from item to item, the on-screen graphs, forecast reports and override views are all automatically updated to show information on the currently selected item.

Add Your Judgment to the Forecast

Once you've generated a baseline forecast, Forecast Pro Unlimited's forecast adjustment/override facility allows you to add your judgment in a number of flexible ways.

You can change the forecasts by selecting points or ranges directly in on-screen graphs and moving them up or down with your mouse. There's also a spreadsheet-style display where you can type in new values, change by percentages, or increment/decrement selected forecasts. You can even select a range of values and adjust the total for that range. Changes made at any level of the forecasting hierarchy automatically reconcile at all levels.

Document Your Changes with Comments

As you make overrides and forecast adjustments, a handy comment field lets you document any adjustments/overrides you've made. Your overrides can then be saved and recalled at a later time without the need to re-key as new data are added and statistical forecasts are revised.

Collaborate with Others

Forecast Pro Unlimited also allows you to share your work with others. This capability is valuable when you want to include more than one person's input into the forecast.  Forecast Pro Unlimited lets you create a file which contains all historical data, forecasts, and any adjustments already made and then to pass that file on to any other Forecast Pro Unlimited user for their input.  

Which Edition is Right For You?

To satisfy different corporate needs, three editions of Forecast Pro are available: Forecast Pro (Standard Edition), Forecast Pro XE (Extended Edition) and Forecast Pro Unlimited.  Which edition is right for you depends on how many items you need to forecast and which techniques you plan to use.  The chart below will help you decide.