Discover How Machine Learning Can Improve Your Forecasting Accuracy

Forecasting is the process of predicting future events. This can be done through a variety of methods, but machine learning is becoming increasingly popular for forecasting due to its accuracy and ability to account for changes in data. In this blog post, we will discuss the benefits of using machine learning for forecasting and describe deeply what is demand forecasting and inventory forecasting. If you are interested in exploring related topics or additional use cases of AI, further information is available here.

What is Inventory Forecasting?

Inventory forecasting is the process of predicting demand for inventory items. This can be done through machine learning algorithms such as linear regression or decision trees, which take into account a variety of factors including past sales data, weather patterns, consumer trends, etc. to make predictions about future demand. Inventory forecasting helps businesses better manage their supply chain and ensure that they are well-stocked to meet customer needs.

Inventory Forecasting Benefits

Inventory forecasting can mean the difference between profitability and piles of unsold goods. When used correctly, companies can better plan for potential trends, save money on storage and keep customers happy.

Top 4 Inventory Forecasting Benefits:

Creating and updating inventory forecasts can be a significant investment of your time and resources. But there are also many rewards to reap when demand forecasting is done well. Here are some of the benefits.

Cost savings
It all comes down to efficiency. By ordering the optimum amount of product you can take advantage of bulk ordering without tying up money in unnecessary inventory. Those unneeded products or parts also require warehousing space, which adds costs.
Customer & supplier satisfaction
Having stock on hand helps keep customers happy and improves the likelihood of repeat business. And understanding supplier processes and timelines helps you minimize stock-outs and keep healthy relationships with them with fewer emergency orders and better communication.
Back-end improvements
Inventory and supply chain are intrinsically connected. Improved demand forecasting improves your supply chain management by looking ahead to ensure the right amount of stock. Additionally, it can decrease the amount of manual labor that goes into inventory and supply chain management. Reorder points and other steps can be automated. Advanced inventory management software can keep forecasts up to date with new information as it’s fed into your platform.
Strategic insights
Improved communication across your enterprise can help you meet company goals — and inventory forecasting can play a key role in driving that communication. For example, by looking at past performance and expected outcomes of a marketing campaign, your inventory managers can ensure there is enough product on hand to meet customer demand, while also possibly cutting some costs with bulk buying. In this manner, your inventory management team can impact key performance indicators (KPIs) such as profit margins.

The primary difference between inventory forecasting and demand forecasting is that inventory forecasting looks at a company's total stock of items, while demand forecasting looks at future customer demand for those items. While both processes involve machine learning algorithms, they use different inputs to inform their predictions. For example, inventory forecasts may take into account a company's current inventory levels, while demand forecasts may look at past sales data or consumer trends in the target market.

What is Demand Forecasting?

Demand forecasting is the process of predicting how much customer demand there will be for a particular product or service in a certain market over time. This can also be accomplished using machine learning algorithms that consider factors like past sales data, demographic trends, economic indicators, seasonality, and more to determine future demand. Demand forecasting helps businesses plan for the future and make sure their supply matches customer demand.

And the top benefits of demand forecasting are:

• Improved customer service.
Knowing the demand for a product or service allows companies to better serve customers and make sure their needs are met in a timely fashion.

• Reduced financial costs.
Demand forecasting helps businesses reduce inventory levels since they know what customers will be buying in the future. This can result in lower costs, as well as improved efficiency and profitability.

• Improved marketing efforts.
Understanding customer demand can help companies improve their marketing strategies by targeting specific markets and reaching out to those with higher potential demand.

But how to choose the best method for your project?

The machine learning model you use will depend on the type of inventory and demand forecasting you need. For example, if you are looking to forecast demand for a particular product or service, then an ARIMA (Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average) machine learning model might be the best option. On the other hand, if you are looking to forecast inventory levels, then a Kalman filter machine-learning model may be more suitable. Ultimately, it’s important to do your research and consult with experts in order to choose the right machine-learning model for your project because every problem is different.

Trends & Formulas in Inventory & Demand Forecasting

Inventory and demand forecasts are becoming more accurate with advances in machine learning technology. This is due to machine learning algorithms being able to take into account a wider range of data points, such as past sales information, seasonality trends, economic indicators, and more. Furthermore, machine learning can also be used to create predictive models that help companies anticipate future demand and trends in the marketplace. Finally, machine learning can also help businesses develop forecasting formulas that can be used to calculate inventory levels at any given time.

At Lexunit, we provide MLOps & AI development services that allow you to use machine learning for forecasting with confidence. Our experienced team of machine-learning experts will work closely with your organization to identify the most accurate machine-learning techniques for your specific needs and goals. Get in touch today to learn more about how our machine-learning services can benefit your business.