Transform your forecasts into a true strategic asset with thaink²

In 2024, 74% of companies struggle to fully leverage their data (source: BCG). This challenge turns into an opportunity through forecasting: find out how this approach revolutionizes business management and decision making.

What is forecasting and why is it essential ?

1.1. Definition of forecasting

Forecasting involves predicting feature results by using advanced analytical models based on past data and external factors such as weather, economic activities, market and more. By anticipating future trends, it contributes directly to forecasting demands, adjusting sales and guiding commercial strategies.

1.2. Approaches

Statistics: offers mature and state of the art tools for analyzing time series and forecasting trends based on historical data. These methods are adapted to environments with well-defined patterns and allow clear interpretation of the results.

Machine learning (AI/ML): offers algorithms capable of modeling more complex historical behaviors in data. These approaches are based on flexible methods that adapt to variations in the data and easily integrate multiple variables.

Gen AI: applied to Forecasting, it can simulate scenarios and generate synthetic data. This approach focuses on modeling complex contexts, offering a predictive vision that complements conventional methods.

2. Uses cases /applications

2.1. Business projections

2.1.1 Sales / Demand

This is an essential component for anticipating market trends, adjusting production and maximizing sales opportunities.

2.1.2. Cash flow

Forecasting enables us to anticipate adjustment needs (WCR), optimize the allocation of cash surpluses, and assess financing requirements to ensure business continuity.

2.1.3. Supplies / Inventory (Raw materials)

By considering demand, trends, prices and lead times, forecasting enables manufacturers to anticipate their raw materials requirements to ensure continuous production and maintain optimum stock levels.

2.2. Planning and scheduling

2.2.1. Workforce

To prevent cost overruns caused by overstaffing or understaffing, forecasting helps anticipate peak activity periods, adjust recruitment, and plan the required workforce.

2.2.2. Production

Adjusting production capacity to demand forecasts helps to optimize production schedules and ensure the right allocation of resources, so that production targets are met without delay or excessive cost.

2.2.3. Energy consumption/production

Energy forecasting optimizes resource management using models that consider seasonality, demand fluctuations and supply constraints (resource availability, environmental regulations, etc.).

3. What are the different data forecasting methodologies?

3.1. Topdown

The Topdown consists in generating forecasts at the most granular scale from the global forecasts.

For example, a company can project its sales by region, store or product from a projection based on the company’s global objectives.

3.2. Bottom-up

The bottom-up approach is the opposite of the top-down method. It allows you to generate granular forecasts and progressively build up to a more global view.

For example, the company will analyze sales by product, store, region, right up to total sales, to identify overall performance.

3.3. Hierarchical forecasting

The hierarchical forecasting is a complementary method of the Topdown and the bottom-up approaches. It's used to ensure consistency between global and granular KPIs for more reliable and stable forecasts.

4. Benefits of using forecasting

Applications and benefits of the forecasting are numerous and include:

Storage: Optimal order and inventory management
Finance: optimization of working capital, cash-flow and liquidity
Human resources: better recruitment, staff, and scheduling management
Strategy: the best ally for the world’s largest companies in their global management and future projections

Taking advantage of predictive models, adapted to your KPIs enables you to differentiate yourself and gain in efficiency, especially with thaink²’s ready-to-use models, which can be deployed faster thanks to SPARK and our automated ETL.

5. thaink²'s all-in-one solution for your forecasting needs.

Thanks to a simplified approach, establish a forecasting culture in your company.

Based on leading–edge technology and technical expertise, you will benefit from a host of key advantages.

Performance: best model for each KPIs and granularity. In addition, identify the best trends (ex: time frequencies in days, weeks, months...)
Accessibility: intuitive use and easy interpretation of results (interactive dashboards and automated reporting)
Versatility: SPARK technology can generate up to 10k KPIs
Ready-to-use: express roll-out and automation thanks to our ETL

Ready to take the next step? Discover how thaink² facilitates your forecasting and analytics processes

Book a demo