lastpost

Forecasting

Successful organizations are those who are able to make relatively accurate forecasts about the future needs (inventory, facilities, capacity, manufacturing, and manpower) for the products produced or the services delivered.

Forecasting is an uncertain science since it calls for predictions, but current theoretical and mathematical models (quantitative and qualitative) make it possible for organizations to predict with an acceptable margin of error. Think about it this way: Without forecasting, organizations would always be responding rather than acting.

1. Select one industry from the list below: Bank, restaurant, health clinic/hospital, airline, or university.

2. What specific variables would be needed by that organization in order to forecast? Be sure you explain why you selected each variable and why it is important to forecasting.

3. Which variables are used for short-range forecasting, long-range forecasting, or for both. Make sure you support your selections.

JOURNAL 9

You will complete a journal each week.

Each week, you will work on one aspect that will help you prepare for the course and reflect. Consider this journal as study notes. This journal will provide an opportunity to capture new ideas from knowledge gained and record your thoughts throughout the course. This will also give you an opportunity to record questions you may wish to research further in preparation for other assigned work. Please remember that copying and pasting your own notes without revising is a form of self-plagiarism.

Begin your post with the label: Unit 9: Forecasting

Research the following topics related to Forecasting:

1. Qualitative/quantitative/mixed methods

2. Forecasting demand

3. Regression/Delphi

4. Forecasting accuracy

5. Trends/patterns

Inventory Management

With effective resource planning organizations can reduce inventory and service costs, improve efficiencies, and establish methods for continuous improvement. Depending upon the type of resource, there is a different type of planning that must take place. This can include material requirements planning (MRP), capacity requirements planning (CRP), enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), or product lifecycle management (PLM).

Research two specific types of resource planning.

1. Based on your research, explain whether or not you believe ERP and MRP are the only resource planning processes applicable to manufacturing processes.

2. Can either ERP or MRP be used for service industries or can they only be used for manufacturing organizations?

JOURNAL 10

You will complete a journal each week.

Each week, you will work on one aspect that will help you prepare for the course and reflect. Consider this journal as study notes. This journal will provide an opportunity to capture new ideas from knowledge gained and record your thoughts throughout the course. This will also give you an opportunity to record questions you may wish to research further in preparation for other assigned work. Please remember that copying and pasting your own notes without revising is a form of self-plagiarism.

Begin your post with the label: Unit 10: Inventory Management

Research the following topics related to Inventory Management:

1. Demand

2. Inventory control systems

3. EOQ

4. Role of inventory management

5. Reorder point