New Product Forecasting - Every company faces the challenge of forecasting how much and when sales will start for new products.  Major retailers are all on different review cycles, so launching at a specific time of year across all customers is no longer an option, except in highly seasonal categories like Cough Cold/Allergy.

CategoryMaster has developed a New Item Forecast model that captures some basic assumptions by account and uses that information to provide a time phased forecast over a 36 month time horizon.  Need to see units and dollars?  No problem, the model will toggle back and forth between the two units of measure.

Utilizing the provided assumptions, the model will calculate opening orders and project when the first restock orders might be expected by customer.  If the item is seasonal, then there is methodology provided to input that seasonal impact, and the model adjusts accordingly. 

Don’t know whether or not a product will gain distribution at a customer! The model also allows for probabilities to be input and the forecast adjusts accordingly, i.e., 30% probability generates a 30% forecast.

This model is a must have for launching new products or brands.  It’s sophisticated algorithm provides a starting point for assessing the potential for new products, and once the decision is made to launch it provides a reasonable estimate volume and timing for operations to scale up production and inventory.