Predicting global demand for goods is the ultimate goal for international logistics.
Whilst some product sales follow predictable patterns, others are much harder to calculate.
Making and shipping products that do not sell adds to waste and puts pressure on global supply chains.
Now a new book by two leading UK academic experts aims to help practitioners better understand demand forecasting and inventory management, bringing leaner, greener benefits to global logistics.
Intermittent Demand Forecasting, by Professor John Boylan, Lancaster University, and Professor Aris Syntetos, Cardiff University, is the first ever text to focus on the methods and approaches of intermittent, rather than fast, demand forecasting.
John and Aris have worked closely with supply chain and software companies to improve demand forecasting and inventory management.
Published by Wiley, Intermittent Demand Forecasting discusses how success should be measured in the context of managing inventories and supply chains and explains key forecasting methods through worked examples and illustrations.
John Boylan, Professor of Business Analytics at Lancaster University, said: "Intermittent Demand Forecasting is for anyone who is interested in improving forecasts of intermittent demand products, and enhancing the management of inventories. Whether you are a practitioner, at the sharp end of demand planning, a software designer, a student, an academic teaching operational research or operations management courses, or a researcher in this field, we hope that the book will inspire you to rethink demand forecasting."
Aris Syntetos, Cardiff Business School Professor of Operational Research and Operations Management, said: "No prior knowledge of intermittent demand forecasting or inventory management is assumed in our book. The key formulae are accompanied by worked examples to show how they can be implemented in practice. For those wishing to understand the theory in more depth, technical notes are provided at the end of each chapter, as well as an extensive and up-to-date collection of references for further study. We hope this volume can play its part in improving global supply chain efficiencies and reducing product obsolescence, waste and landfill."
