Production Scheduling Software Forecasting in the 2017 R2 Acumatica Manufacturing Edition

Written by Art Olsen | Wed, Oct 25, 2017

How to Forecast with Production Scheduling Software

Forecasting with production scheduling software helps manufacturers control how much is produced in response to customer demand. The forecasting capabilities in the new 2017 R2 Acumatica Cloud ERP Manufacturing Edition (formerly known as JAMS) help manufacturers manage the order-to-production-to-cash process. Since there are two different ways to set up forecasting, we’ll cover the first process in this article and the second process in another article. First, we’ll walk you through eight steps to generate a sales forecast of end items to sell. Our follow-up article will cover the second approach which is how to create a master production plan.

The capabilities in the 2017 R2 Acumatica Manufacturing Edition enables you to generate a 12-month sales forecast based on actual sales history. The Acumatica production scheduling software then uses this sales forecast to create a production plan and a purchasing plan. The system generates automatic messages to purchase components and produce products to meet the forecast demands.

Eight Forecast Generation Steps with Acumatica’s Production Scheduling Software Functionality:

1. In the Generate Forecast screen determine how many years of historical sales to use. The system looks at actual sales for those years and generates a 12-month forecast.
2. Make sure to mark Calculate by Month to get the monthly forecast amounts.
3. Note also, checking the Dependent box means that once the forecast is created, the quantities on Sales Orders will reduce the forecast by those quantities.
4. Leave the other parameters with default values at this point and hit the Calculate button. The system creates a first-pass forecast.
5. Get Sales, Engineering, Production and Finance in the same room and review the resulting sales forecast and agree to the forecast or decide it needs to be modified.

In a previous life, I worked in a top finance role for an electronics manufacturer and our production manager started discounting the sales forecast by 10 or 15% because “they always miss the forecast”. Unbeknownst to him the sales team changed tactics and generated more demand. But we couldn’t ship product for the additional orders. From that point forward we had monthly sales and operations planning meetings and agreed what the forecast would be.
It's important to discuss various internal and external factors in the business. Is the market for your products expected to grow next year? Will some products decline while others may increase? These decisions and other decisions are important factors in the forecasting process. They can affect cash and inventory levels and the ability to deliver product to customers, therefore, impact the bottom line.

6. If you need to make changes choose the expected Growth Rate for the coming forecast period, either positive or negative, to be applied against historical sales.
7. If you need to generate the forecast by product line, use the Item Class field to filter to each product line. Use the Growth Rate factor click the Export to Excel and make your modifications there. Then use the Load Records from File function to bring the revised forecast back in.
8. When you are ready hit the Process All button and the system will load the records into the Forecast screen where it is ready for MRP to use.

This is the first step in taking full advantage of the production scheduling software features in the new Acumatica Manufacturing Edition. We will cover more helpful tips in the manufacturing process in following posts to help you get the most out of your Acumatica investment.

To learn more about Acumatica and it's production scheduling software and forecasting functionality, click here:

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Another version of this blog was previously published on 10/25/17 - Acumatica Production Scheduling Software - Creating a Forecast

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