DRP - Forecast Hold FAQ

Question: What is the forecast hold functionality and how do you set up the system to use it?

Answer: Some companies closely monitor their buying based on adhering to monthly forecasts provided by customers. This helps to insure that customers that provide forecasts actually receive the forecasted products in the desired month. If there is inventory available and a customer orders more than their forecast, a decision needs to be made as to whether to fulfill this excess order without jeopardizing other customers’ orders within a specified future time period. For more information, see DRP - Available to Promise FAQ. When using this functionality, an order can be put on forecast hold if any of its line items exceed the customer forecast for the period that the order is required.

To set up to use forecast hold functionality, change the Forecast Hold parameter in Forecast Method Maintenance to a valid value other than Standard.

Note The parameter names must be entered exactly as listed in order for the calculations to work properly. These same parameter names can be used for different forecast methods.

You can select one of the following values:

• Standard - Forecast hold is not enabled.

• Customer Forecast - When an order is entered or updated, each line is evaluated to determine whether the customer forecast by forecast group has been exceeded.

• Actual Forecast - When an order is entered or updated, each line is evaluated to determine whether the actual forecast by forecast group has been exceeded.

NOTE Forecast hold functionality can be disabled for specific order classes in Order Class Maintenance.

Question: What is the processing flow for forecast hold functionality in DRP?

Answer: The process is as follows: