1. Navigate to the Financial Workmode #
- Start by accessing the Financial Workmode from the main dashboard.
2. Expand Forecast Details #
- In any inventory cell, locate and click on the Forecast Details to expand the relevant forecast information for that product. The expanded view will look like this:
3. Click on “Batch Update Options” #
- Once the forecast details are expanded, click the “Batch Update Options” button. This allows you to update forecast data for multiple products at once.
Note: The settings you select in this step will be applied to all products currently displayed based on your filter criteria. For instance, if you’ve filtered down to X number of products, these will be the only products affected in the selected sales channels.
4. Select Your Sales Channel(s) #
- In the next window, select the sales channel(s) you wish to update by checking the box next to each channel.
- Alternatively, use the “Toggle All” option to update all available sales channels at once.
5. Choose Update Options #
- You now have two options for updating forecast values:
Option 1: Apply Sales Basis Months #
- Sales Basis Months are used when you want your forecast to be driven by actual historical data. The system will average the sales for the selected months and apply an escalation percentage on top of that average to project future sales.
When to Use Sales Basis Months: #
- Seasonal Trends: If your products have strong seasonal demand (e.g., holiday products, fashion trends, or weather-dependent items), you can select the relevant months that reflect typical high or low sales periods. For example, you might include only the winter months if you’re forecasting for a product that sells primarily during the holiday season.
- Historical Sales Consistency: If the past performance of your products is a strong indicator of future performance, using sales basis months is ideal. By including or excluding specific months, you can refine your forecast to better match expected demand patterns.
How It Works: #
- Select Months: Underneath the sales chart, you can toggle checkboxes to include or exclude certain months from the sales basis calculation. The system will calculate an average monthly sales figure from the selected months.
- Escalation Percentage: After determining the sales basis, you can apply a standard escalation percentage. This percentage can reflect market growth, inflation, or expected increases in sales due to external factors.
Example: #
- If you’re forecasting for a summer product, you may choose to base your sales on June-August data from the previous year. You could then apply a 5% escalation to account for anticipated growth in the upcoming season.
Option 2: Apply Manual Escalation Percentage #
- Manual Escalation is used when you want to directly control how much you adjust your forecast, independent of historical sales data. You manually input a percentage by which you want the system to increase or decrease your forecast.
When to Use Manual Escalation: #
- External Market Factors: If external conditions (e.g., an upcoming marketing campaign, new distribution channels, or a known market event) are expected to influence future sales but are not captured in the past data, manual escalation allows you to adjust for these anticipated changes.
- New Products or Limited Data: For new products with no significant historical data or for products where the past sales data isn’t reflective of future performance (e.g., when entering a new market or after product rebranding), manual escalation is helpful. In such cases, basing your forecast purely on sales history might not make sense.
- Promotions or Price Changes: If you’re expecting a spike or drop in sales due to promotions, pricing changes, or other sales activities, manually adjusting the forecast allows you to apply a percentage that reflects the expected impact of these changes.
How It Works: #
- Input Percentage: Simply enter the percentage you expect sales to increase or decrease by. For instance, entering 10% would increase the forecasted sales by 10% over the baseline projection.
Example: #
- If you know that a product will be heavily promoted in the next quarter and expect a 20% increase in demand due to this promotion, you can manually apply that percentage increase, regardless of what the historical sales data shows.
6. Apply Changes to New Listings (Optional) #
- If you want these settings to be automatically applied to new product listings in the future, check the “Set as Default for New Listings” option before saving.
7. Save Your Updates #
- Once you’ve selected the channels and configured your update options, click Save to apply the batch updates across all the filtered products.
Summary: When to Use Each Method #
- Sales Basis Months: Use this option when you have reliable historical data that reflects the seasonality or trends of your products. It’s ideal when you want your forecast to be primarily data-driven with minor adjustments for future projections.
- Manual Escalation Percentage: Use this when external factors or internal strategy changes are expected to heavily influence future sales, and historical data alone cannot predict these changes. This option provides more control over your forecast adjustments in the absence of clear historical trends.
