Forecast Pro - XE (Extended Edition)

Forecast Pro - XE (Extended Edition) $1,295.00
Forecast Pro - XE (Extended Edition)

New Version 5! Quickly and accurately forecast sales, costs and virtually anything else using the best-selling and highest-rated forecasting software. Forecast automatically using Expert Mode or control the methods yourself.


Whether you are forecasting for marketing, finance or manufacturing, Forecast Pro is the ideal solution--simple enough for beginners, but with all the power needed by experts. Forecast Pro is the best selling and best regarded forecasting software in the industry.


Benefits

Easy to use

The software guides you through the entire forecasting process. No knowledge of statistics or forecasting is required! ForecastPro's expert selection mode can help you apply the best forecasting method for your data. Simply input your data, select Expert Selection and click one button to create your forecast.

Highly accurate forecasts.

Forecast Pro's automated expert selection recently outperformed 18 of 19 teams made up of forecasting experts from the world's leading business schools. In the same study of over 3,000 test forecasts, it outperformed all other forecasting software packages. Expert selection automatically uses rule based logic and tests using "out of sample tests" to select the best method.

Built-in forecasting expertise.

Forecast Pro automatically helps you select the best technique from five classes of forecasting methods appropriate for a wide variety of business needs. Use expert selection to automatically choose a model or select your own for the following methods:

  • 12 different exponential smoothing models using the Holt Winters family, including trend and seasonal patterns.
  • Seasonal Simplification substantially increases accuracy of forecasts when historic data contains more than 12 observations per year.
  • A multiplicative, seasonal Box Jenkins model for stable data sets--can be built automatically or interactively.
  • Multiple Level models are used to produce forecasts for groups of variables within a hierarchy such as geographic areas or situations where multiple brands, product lines and products are tracked. ForecastPro takes data from each element in the hierarchy and forecasts all the series.
  • Low volume/sparse data models such as Croston’s Intermittent Demand model when series has a lot of zero data or discrete models when data consists of low integers.
  • Simple Methods like moving averages for very short or volatile data
  • 4 types of curve fitting methods: straight line, quadratic, exponential and growth

Forecast Pro XE adds a number of additional forecasting models.

These can also be automatically chosen with expert selection, or you can select and alter them yourself. Additional methods include:

  • Dynamic regression for models with leading indicators or explanatory variables that drive the forecast. ForecastPro provides assistance in choosing the best variables as well as help in selecting the optimal lagged or transformed variables.
  • Event Models extend exponential smoothing to account for irregular occurences such as promotions, holidays, strikes, business interruptions or other irregular events

Link your forecasts to your existing business data.

Forecast Pro can import data from spreadsheets, text files or any ODBC source (e.g. Access, Oracle, SQL Server). Outputting data to the same sources is just as easy.

Diagnose and test your models.

For those with a statistical background, Forecast Pro's diagnostic tools help you optimize your forecasts using a variety of tools:

  • Diagnostic Statistics such as Sample Size, Number of parameters, Mean, Standard Deviation, R-square, Adjusted R-square, Durbin-Watson, Ljung-Box test, Forecast error, Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), Mean absolute percentage error, Root mean squared error and mean absolute deviation.
  • Compare and evaluate models graphically using graphs of the residuals and error autocorrelation function.
  • Test your model using out of sample testing. Select and withhold a sample of data at the end of your data set to test the performance of your model on.

Adjust your forecasts and present them.

Forecast Pro lets you easily adjust points, ranges or totals on your forecasts directly on the graph or within a spreadsheet interface.

Automatically create presentation quality forecast reports

4 standard reports plus custom reporting options. Include a graph, historic data, confidence limits and more. Output your report to a spreadsheet, ASCII or any ODBC database.

Batch forecast up to 100 items in a single run.

If you need to forecast hundreds or thousands of items, collaborate with others on forecasts or have greater override control, consider Forecast Pro Unlimited.

Click here for a comparison between the 3 ForecastPro versions.

Get up to speed quickly.

Forecast Pro's manual includes a set of tutorials and a statistical reference. One year of free, unlimited technical support by phone, fax, or e-mail is provided. Product training and forecasting seminars are also available throughout the year to take your forecasting skills to the next level.

Discounts are available for academic institutions.


Reviews/Testimonials

PC Week: "Indispensable!. . .for any company whose future depends on numbers, Forecast Pro is arguably the only application one needs to justify buying a computer." "Forecast Pro automates every possible aspect of analysis and prediction."

PC Magazine-Editor's Choice: "Anyone needing to forecast trends--especially those without enough background to use the powerful but more involved tools in statistical powerhouses, such as SPSS--will want to place Forecast Pro high on the list of must-have software."

Info World: "Business Forecast Systems puts an end to the forecasting dilemma with the release of Forecast Pro XE, Version 4.0, a system that uses proven, statistical forecasting techniques. Its accuracy and broad support for various statistical models earned it our top score of Excellent."

Byte - Best Overall Award: "Forecast Pro strikes an optimal mix between the ease-of-use features that a novice forecaster seeks and the power and flexibility an experienced forecaster requires."

PC World - Highest Rated: "Forecast Pro achieves a good balance between automatic forecasting and user involvement...It produces the best forecasts overall and prepares the best reports."

Industry Week: "Even people without backgrounds in statistics or economics can use the system to develop more accurate forecasts."

Craig Divine, Pacific Bell: "Forecast Pro has increased my productivity way beyond my expectations!"

David Shroyer, Robert Mondavi Winery: "Forecast Pro is fast, flexible and easy to use. We love it!"

Bruce Harned, Owens-Corning: "A tremendous tool. Forecast Pro makes it easy for us to get the information we need accurately and consistently."

Forecast Pro customers include over 25,000 small and large companies and organizations across every major industry including 3M, A.C. Nielsen, Amazon.com, AT&T, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Canon USA, Capital One Financial, Chevron, Chrysler, CocaCola, Dell, Deloitte & Touche, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Eastman Kodak, ExxonMobil, Federal Express, Fidelity Investments, Ford Motor Company, Gilette, Glaxo SmithKline, Harvard University, HP, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, Levi Strauss, Lucent, Lufthansa, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Merck, Merril Lynch, Monsanto, Nabisco, Nestle, Nortel, Office Depot, Owens Corning, Pennzoil, Pfizer, Pilsbury, Polaroid, Procter & Gamble, Qwest Communications, Ralston Purina, Saab, Seagram and Sons, Sherwin Williams, Siemens, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, Toys R Us, US Postal Service, Unilever Bestfoods, UPS, Verizon, Walmart and Xerox.


Technical Specifications

Forecast Pro is a 32-bit program that runs under all current Windows platforms. Forecast Pro requires a minimum of 64 MB of RAM and 30 MB of hard disk space. With such modest hardware requirements, Forecast Pro can run on virtually any Windows-based computer!