© 2007, Business Forecast Systems, Inc. www.forecastpro.com/Trends

© 2007, Business Forecast Systems, Inc. www.forecastpro.com/Trends

• Opt-in Survey of Trends e-Newsletter Readers• 90 Completed Responses• Questions Asked:

1. Do you use Excel (in any capacity) for forecasting?2. If yes, is Excel your “primary” or “supplemental” tool?3. What functional area of the organization are you in?

In addition, respondents were presented a series of statements that described forecasting processes, andasked to indicate those which best described their own forecasting processes. Comments were also solicited.

• Original Survey and Trends Archive Available at:

www.forecastpro.com/resources/trends/index.html

© 2007, Business Forecast Systems, Inc. www.forecastpro.com/Trends

Excel is widely used for forecasting

© 2007, Business Forecast Systems, Inc. www.forecastpro.com/Trends

For more than half who use Excel, it is their primary forecasting tool.

© 2007, Business Forecast Systems, Inc. www.forecastpro.com/Trends

It is interesting to note that a far greater percentage of those responding use their own forecasting formulas as opposed to relying on formulas or models which are built-in to Excel (e.g.,moving average, trend, exponential smoothing, regression, etc.)

The 82 respondents who use Excel for forecasting indicated (multiple selections permitted)

I Use Excel To:  

Calculate Forecasts Using Formulas I've Written 66%

Distribute or Share Forecasts I've Generated in Excel 57%

Distribute or Share Forecasts I've Generated Outside of Excel 52%

Compile or Consolidate Forecasts I've Received From Others 44%

Calculate Forecasts Using Excel's Embedded Models or Formulas 23%

© 2007, Business Forecast Systems, Inc. www.forecastpro.com/Trends

85% of respondents who use Excel as their primary forecasting tool calculate their forecasts using their own proprietary models or formulas.

© 2007, Business Forecast Systems, Inc. www.forecastpro.com/Trends

I Use Excel To: OVERALL PRIMARY SUPPLEMENTAL

Calculate Forecasts Using Formulas I've Written 66% 85% 49%

Distribute or Share Forecasts I've Generated in Excel 57% 65% 49%

Distribute or Share Forecasts I've Generated Outside of Excel 52% 30% 72%

Compile or Consolidate Forecasts I've Received From Others 44% 43% 46%

Calculate Forecasts Using Excel's Embedded Models or Formulas 23% 28% 21%

© 2007, Business Forecast Systems, Inc. www.forecastpro.com/Trends

Potential Next Steps: Look at how (and why) different functional areas use Excel for forecasting and if their use correlates to improvements in forecasting accuracy.

Function Most Commonly Cited Use %

FinanceCalculating Forecasts Using My Formulas or Models 63%

Marketing Distributing or Sharing Forecasts Created in Excel 81%

OperationsCalculating Forecasts Using My Formulas or Models 55%

SalesTie: Calculating Forecasts Using My Formulas or Models, Distributing or Sharing Forecasts 73%

© 2007, Business Forecast Systems, Inc. www.forecastpro.com/Trends

Additional Resources

www.forecasting-summit.comTwice-per-year forecasting conference offering forecasting education, practitioner case studies and applied

research in forecasting

www.forecasters.org/foresight/index.htmlWeb Site for Foresight: The International Journal of Applied Forecasting

http://bus.utk.edu/ivc/forecasting/forecastingreadings.htmlThe University of Tennessees Sales Forecasting Management Forum’s On-Line Library: Downloadable

PDFs of Articles and Papers on a Wide Range of Forecasting Topics, Including Accuracy and Benchmarking

www.forecastingprinciples.comProfessor Scott Armstrong at the Wharton School’s “Forecasting Principles” Site

www.forecasters.orgInternational Institute of Forecasters Web Site