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The ABC Company has provided us with the following data on the demand for their

ID: 386702 • Letter: T

Question

The ABC Company has provided us with the following data on the demand for their product (stated in 1000 units) during the last 8 years. Years 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Demand 5.0 8.3 13.9 16.2 15.4 18.6 16.4 17.5 A)- Use a three-year moving average to forecast demand for year 9. If the actual demand for year 9 is 18.3, forecast the demand for year 10. B)- Predict the demand for years 9 and 10, using the Exponential smoothing method. Do those with two different values of , ( =0,35, and =060). Which value of results in better forecast? C)- Use linear regression to forecast the demand for years 9 and 10.

Explanation / Answer

Please refer below table which captures all relevant calculations:

Years

Demand

Forecast ( 3 year moving average)

Forecast ( alpha = 0.35)

Absolute Deviation ( basis alpha = 0.35)

Forecast ( alpha = 0.60)

Absolute deviation ( basis alpha = 0.60)

Forecast ( Linear regression method)

1

5

5.00

5.00

14.40

2

8.3

5.00

5.00

19.25

3

13.9

6.16

6.98

27.48

4

16.2

9.07

8.87

7.33

11.13

5.07

30.86

5

15.4

12.80

11.43

3.97

14.17

1.23

29.69

6

18.6

15.17

12.82

5.78

14.91

3.69

34.39

7

16.4

16.73

14.84

1.56

17.12

0.72

31.16

8

17.5

16.80

15.39

2.11

16.69

0.81

32.78

9

18.3

17.50

16.13

2.17

17.18

1.12

33.95

10

17.40

16.89

17.85

SUM =

22.92

12.64

Answer to question a :

Forecast using 3 year moving average :

Ft = ( Dt-1 + Dt-2 + Dt-3 ) / 3

Ft = Forecast value

Dt-1, Dt-2, Dt-3 = demand for period t-1, t-2 and t-3 respectively

Forecasted demand for year 10 = 17.40

Answer to question b :

Smoothing constant = 0.35

Smoothing constant = 0.60

Demand for Year 9

16.13

17.18

Demand for year 10

16.89

17.85

Mean absolute deviation ( MAD) basis forecast using exponential smoothing constant of 0.35

= 22.92/6( i.e. corresponding number of observations )

= 3.82

Mean absolute deviation ( MAD ) basis forecast using exponential smoothing constant of 0.6 = 12.64 / 6 ( i.e. corresponding number of observations )

= 2.11 ( rounded to 2 decimal places )

A lower MAD indicates better forecast accuracy. Therefore , forecast using exponential smoothing constant of 0.6 results in better foreacst

Answer to question # c :

Let the linear regression equation is :

Y = a + b.X

Y ( dependent variable ) = Forecasted demand

X ( independent variable ) = Year number

A, b = constants

We place values of year and corresponding demand ( as provided ) in two adjacent columns in excel and apply the formula LINEST ( ) and obtain following values of a and b :

A = 7.05

B = 1.47

Therefore ,

Y = 7.05 + 1.47.X

Forecast values basis linear regression equation are placed in excel using above formula

Forecast for year 9 = 32.78

Forecast for year 10 = 33.95

Years

Demand

Forecast ( 3 year moving average)

Forecast ( alpha = 0.35)

Absolute Deviation ( basis alpha = 0.35)

Forecast ( alpha = 0.60)

Absolute deviation ( basis alpha = 0.60)

Forecast ( Linear regression method)

1

5

5.00

5.00

14.40

2

8.3

5.00

5.00

19.25

3

13.9

6.16

6.98

27.48

4

16.2

9.07

8.87

7.33

11.13

5.07

30.86

5

15.4

12.80

11.43

3.97

14.17

1.23

29.69

6

18.6

15.17

12.82

5.78

14.91

3.69

34.39

7

16.4

16.73

14.84

1.56

17.12

0.72

31.16

8

17.5

16.80

15.39

2.11

16.69

0.81

32.78

9

18.3

17.50

16.13

2.17

17.18

1.12

33.95

10

17.40

16.89

17.85

SUM =

22.92

12.64