The Unified Forecasting Method

By Rod Daugherty, Manhattan Associates

Lost sales, increased costs, and poor customer service due to inaccurate forecasts, out-of-stocks, overstocks, unsuccessful promotions, markdowns, and out-of-season items play havoc with a company's bottom line. Not too many companies can remain profitable by writing off hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise on an annual basis or sitting idly by as its customer base erodes due to inadequate service.