Forecasting demand for single-period products: A case study in the apparel industry

摘要

In the apparel industry, three major factors influence the demand forecasting are shortening product life-cycles, increasing product variety, and globalization of sourcing and manufacturing. This article studies in detail the influence of these factors. Most of the stock keeping units (SKUs) change every selling and there are no historical demand data are available. Also, it may not be possible to replenish within the season since manufacturing is against confirmed orders. Since there are a variety of products introduced in every season the demand for each variety can seldom be predicted. The only method is to predict the demand based on the initial orders. This initial demand information is gathered in two ways in the apparel industry. First is based on the preview that is based on the orders obtained two to three weeks prior to the start of the season based on customer orders based on a discount. Other is by expert opinion on the individual product demand. This study deals with the former method and compares it with the later. (36 refs.)