Forecasting and Inventory Model for Genuine Automotive Spare Parts Wholesale Distributor

摘要

The genuine automotive spare parts industry in Thailand has become very competitive in the wholesale market due to the globalization and the increasing number of new wholesale distributors in the past few years. The business owners are striving to improve their supply chain operations and reduce cost. Although accurate demand forecasting and inventory management play a significant role in maintaining a business's competitiveness, most genuine automotive spare parts wholesale distributors in Thailand are still managing their business manually based on their experiences. In this research, we work with an automotive spare parts wholesale business from Thailand to conduct a comprehensive sales data analysis, and perform a comparative study on different forecasting models including traditional models and machine learning models with the goal to improve their forecast accuracy. Furthermore, we develop an inventory management mechanism that take into consideration of different price schemes offered by suppliers to maximize the expected profit.