ABSTRACT
One dimension used to evaluate forecasting is the time horizon. The three different time horizons associated with forecasting are seen in Figure 17.1: short-term, intermediate-term, and longterm. Short-term forecasting is crucial for day-to-day planning and is typically measured in days or weeks. Examples of the uses of short-term forecasts are inventory management, production plans that may be derived from a materials requirements planning system, resource requirements planning, and shift scheduling that may require forecasts of workers’ availabilities and preferences. The intermediate-term is measured in weeks or months. Typical intermediate-term forecasting problems are sales patterns for product families, requirements and availabilities of workers, and resource requirements. Long-term planning involves capacity needs. When demands are expected to increase, the Žrm must plan for the construction of new facilities or implementing existing facilities with new technologies.
