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Flexible Forecast is an extension to the standard demand forecasting in Business Central. It creates and maintains forecast entries the same way the standard forecast does, but adds extra dimensions so you can enrich your forecast with salesperson, customer, country, variant codes, and two global dimension codes. This makes it easier to distinguish forecast entries across different salespersons, customers, and other parameters, which is especially useful when you work with complex forecasts.
You enter quantities directly in the flexible forecast views, and the changes update the same underlying forecast tree that Business Central uses. The standard demand forecast keeps a history of changes by creating a new entry with the difference whenever you adjust a quantity. Flexible Forecast works the same way, so nothing about the underlying forecast logic changes.
You can export and import the enriched forecast data to and from Excel, which makes it easier to work with the additional dimensions.
How forecast entries work in standard Business Central
The standard demand forecast in Business Central lets you enter a forecast and choose how to view it. You can view by month, set a date filter, and so on. If you open the standard demand forecast and look at item 1000, for example, you might see a forecast in May 2020.
When you add a location code filter, the forecast view adjusts accordingly. If you drill down into an entry in standard Business Central, you see two entries instead of one, because the system saves the history. When you change a quantity, for instance from one value to 37, Business Central does not overwrite the existing entry. It creates a new entry with the difference, so the full history of the forecast is preserved.
How Flexible Forecast extends the standard functionality
If you use Flexible Forecast instead of the standard forecast, you get different views of the same data. When you open those views, you see the same amounts. So if the standard forecast shows 37, the flexible forecast shows 37 as well.
Just like in the standard forecast, you can change the quantity directly in the flexible forecast view. The change updates the underlying forecast tree exactly as it does in standard Business Central.
Extra dimensions in Flexible Forecast
The main difference is the added functionality for extra dimensions. Flexible Forecast lets you add salesperson, customer, country, variant codes, and two global dimension codes to the forecast tree. This means you can enrich your forecast with more data and distinguish forecast entries based on different salespersons, customers, and other parameters.
You can export and import this data to and from Excel, which makes it practical to maintain larger and more detailed forecasts. The extra dimensions give you real advantages when you work with more complex forecasts, where a single overall figure per item is not enough.
Q&A
Does Flexible Forecast change how the standard Business Central forecast works?
No. Flexible Forecast creates and maintains forecast entries the same way the standard demand forecast does. When you change a quantity, it updates the same underlying forecast tree, and the history is preserved through new entries holding the difference.
What extra dimensions can you add with Flexible Forecast?
You can add salesperson, customer, country, variant codes, and two global dimension codes to the forecast tree. This lets you distinguish forecast entries across different salespersons, customers, and other parameters.
Can you work with Flexible Forecast data in Excel?
Yes. You can export and import the enriched forecast data, including the extra dimensions, to and from Excel.
When is Flexible Forecast most useful?
It gives the most value when you work with complex forecasts, where you need to break the forecast down by salesperson, customer, country, or other dimensions rather than just by item.