Retail Demand Forecasting (RDF) Business Essentials 13.2

This course takes the user through a through explanation of the benefits, features and functionality of the Oracle Retail Demand Forecasting solution. It includes traditional forecasting via a variety of forecast methods as well as forecasting for special scenarios such as Like Item and Sister Store or Product Cloning. Additional functionality through optional components such as Curve- which is used to create Curve Profiles, Promote - which is used for promotional forecasting and Grade. What if-forecasting capability is also discussed.

Learn To:

• Define Demand Forecasting
• Identify challenges to Retail Demand Forecasting (RDF)
• Explain how RDF provides solutions to business needs
• Describe the RDF Business Process Flow
• List the RDF Task Templates
• Prepare data for forecasting

A Live Virtual Class (LVC) is exclusively for registered students; unregistered individuals may not view an LVC at any time. Registered students must view the class from the country listed in the registration form. Unauthorized recording, copying, or transmission of LVC content may not be made.

Audience

• Business Analysts
• Sales
• Database Administrators
• Administrator
• End Users
• Functional Implementer
• Implementation Consultant
• Technical Administrator

Course Topics Introduction

• Course Overview
• Course Objectives
• Course Agenda

Overview

• Define demand forecasting
• Describe the role of demand forecasting in the retail planning process
• List the challenges to successful demand forecasting
• Explain how RDF overcomes forecasting challenges
• Describe how RDF may be integrated with other applications

Business Process Flow

• Describe the steps in the RDF primary workflow
• List the various methods of forecast approval
• Name the two additional tools provided for analyzing demand forecasts for accuracy
• Navigate through RDF steps using the RDF workflow

Login and Taskflow

• Start the RDF Client
• Describe the RDF login process
• Select the RDF Domain
• Explain the RDF Taskflow Pane

Preprocessing Data for Forecasting

• Define data preprocessing
• Describe at least 3 preprocessing methods
• Explain why preprocessing data may be necessary to create accurate demand forecasts
• Explain the impact of the Clear and No Filtering preprocessing Method

Forecasting Methods

• Exponential Smoothing
• Regression Analysis
• Bayesian Analysis
• Prediction Intervals
• Automatic Method Selection
• Source-level Forecasting
• Promotional Forecasting

Setting Forecast Parameters

• Identify functions of the Forecast Administration Task
• List the Forecast Administration Views
• Identify functions of the Forecast Maintenance Task
• List the Forecast Maintenance Views
• Explain the functions of the key View Parameters

Like Item, Sister Store and Product Cloning

• Describe the function of the Like-Item, Sister Store Task
• List the views found in the Like-Item, Sister Store Task
• Describe the key parameters found in the Like-Item, Sister- Store Views
• Describe the Product/Location Cloning Task
• List the views found in the Product/Location Cloning Task
• Describe the key parameters found in the Product/Location Cloning Views

Promote

• Describe the features and functionality of the (Optional) Promote solution.
• Use the Promotional Forecasting tools within RDF
• Explain the difference between promotional and statistical forecasting

Curve

• Describe the business function of the Curve module
• Explain the process of creating a custom Spread Profile using the Curve Tasks and Views
• Set Curve parameters

Generating Forecasts

• Explain the steps in manually generating a demand forecast
• Explain the process of generating a demand forecast through the nightly batch run

Approving and Deleting Forecasts

• Differentiate between the different methods of approving a forecast
• List the possible Views in the Forecast Approval Task
• Explain the purpose of the key parameters in the Forecast Approval Views
• Describe the tools used for deleting a forecast

Grade

• Describe the features and functionality of the Grade solution
• Identify the methods for creating clusters
• Describe each method in detail

Forecast Analysis Tools

• Explain the function and purpose of the Forecast Analysis tools
• Explain the function of the Views found in the Interactive Forecasting Task
• Explain the function of the Views found in the Forecast Scorecard Task

Exporting Forecasts

• Describe the process of exporting demand forecasts
• Explain how demand forecasts are used by other planning applications
• Explain how demand forecasts are used by execution applications

Course Review

• Recap the RDF course content
• Create, run, and review a sample Demand Forecast

Course Objectives

• View a Sample Demand Forecast
• Approve a Sample Demand Forecast
• Review the accuracy of a Sample Demand Forecast
• Identify the Default Alerts in RDF and their functions
• Describe how RDF integrates with other systems
• Use the optional Curve Module
• Generate a Sample Demand Forecast