Products & Solutions / Demand Forecasting for Retail

SAS® Demand Forecasting for Retail

SAS Demand Forecasting for Retail uses SAS software's unique, high-performance forecasting engine to automatically diagnose, model, execute and reconcile forecasts across multiple merchandise levels and locations. It allows the creation of forecast projects and manages forecasts with a built-in repository and versioning system.

Benefits

  • Drive better business results.
  • Improve planning with better demand signals.
  • Increase forecast accuracy.
  • Leverage high scalability.
  • Increase staff productivity and adoption.

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Features

  • Comprehensive retail capabilities
  • Visual demand shaping with “what-if” scenario analysis
  • Event modeling and management
  • Causal forecasting

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How SAS® Is Different

With more than 30 years of forecasting experience, only SAS offers:

  • The most complete set of forecasting methods available on the market.
  • The ability to model and forecast moving holidays and events.
  • Advanced time series causal forecasting models.
  • Advanced forecasting capability embedded within merchandise planning and ready to seed plans.
  • Highly automated forecast model creation with exception management.

Benefits

  • Drive better business results. Better forecasting and replenishment improve every aspect for your business and customers – better in-stock levels, reduce unneeded inventory and increase profit. More accurate demand forecasts improve stock ordering, delivery and replenishment.
  • Improve planning with better demand signals. By seamlessly integrating with existing planning processes, SAS Demand Forecasting for Retail helps identify opportunities and improve profitability.
  • Increase forecast accuracy. SAS provides retailers with an unmatched library of models for industry that generate forecasts based on underlying trend, seasonality promotions, inventory effects and other known causal factors. Proprietary "best pick" functionality automates model selection.
  • Leverage high scalability. SAS supports the entire retail organization down to the individual store SKU level, for all types of retailers.
  • Increase staff productivity and adoption. Straightforward interface and automated exception-based forecast management reduces the need for manual inputs and forecast updates.

Features

Comprehensive retail capabilities
  • Robust library of retail models.
  • Event management and modeling.
  • Causal forecasting.
  • Easy use of merchandise and location filters, clusters and time events.
  • Access to forecast accuracy reports and metrics.
  • Statistical forecast generation at any level in the retail hierarchies.
  • New product forecasting.
Visual demand shaping with “what-if” scenario analysis
  • Price elasticity.
  • Calendar events.
  • Promotions.
  • Future price changes.
  • Hypothetical economic changes.
  • Competitor actions.
Event modeling and management
  • Capture and model moving holidays and calendar events.
  • Seasonality and calendar events estimated separately.
  • Automatically applies moving holiday effects to correct periods.
  • Event management console provided to create custom events.
Causal forecasting
  • Automatic determination of significant causal factors.
  • Use of advanced time series regression models.
  • Captures multiple period effects.

System Requirements

Client environment
  • Microsoft Windows (x86-32): Windows XP Professional
  • Internet Explorer
Server environment

SAS servers, including Base SAS and SAS Metadata Server, can be installed on one or more hardware systems in a multitier configuration.

  • AIX (64-bit), Release 5.1+
  • Solaris (64-bit), Version 8, 9 or 10 on SPARC
  • Microsoft Windows (x86-32): Windows Server 2003
Web tier
  • SAS includes a reference implementation of Apache Tomcat

Ready to learn more?

Call us at 1-800-727-0025 (US and Canada) or request more information.