View the Graphical Inventory Profile with Forecast included

The graphical inventory profile in Business Central gives you a visual overview of how your inventory develops over time, and how forecasts affect what the planning engine sees as demand. You can switch the forecast on and off, choose a start date for when the forecast should apply, and filter out forecast before a certain period. This lets you see your current situation based on open documents alongside the future picture that includes forecast.

When you include forecast, the profile shows the remaining sales forecast. This is the forecast reduced by the sales orders already placed in the period. It reflects exactly the demand the planning worksheet or requisition worksheet will act on when you run it.

You can also exclude or ignore forecast before a specific period, for example before August. This changes the calculated demand. In the example, the inventory level goes to minus 179 instead of minus 268 when forecast before the chosen period is ignored.

Viewing the inventory profile without forecast

If you deselect the forecast option and run the profile, it displays your inventory development without any forecast included. The red graph shows a picture of all the open documents. In this view you can see, for example, an ending inventory of six and some negative inventory in the period. This gives you a clear picture of where you stand based purely on actual orders and existing documents.

Including forecast in the graphical profile

When you run the profile again and select the include forecast option, you can choose the date the forecast should apply from, for instance February 1st. The overview then shows the remaining sales forecast or component forecast.

You have flexibility in what you display. When forecast is included, you can deselect the red curve so that only the remaining sales forecast is shown. This makes it easier to focus on the forecast picture without the open documents getting in the way.

Understanding the remaining sales forecast

The remaining sales forecast is the part of your forecast that has not yet been consumed by actual sales orders. For example, on February 1st you might have a forecast of 40. The sales orders placed in that period reduce that forecast when you run a planning worksheet.

This is important because it shows the real impact the forecast has on the planning worksheet or requisition worksheet. The planning engine does not simply add the full forecast on top of your orders. It nets the forecast against existing demand, and the remaining sales forecast is what is left after that calculation.

Filtering forecast by period

You can filter on a forecast period when you run the planning worksheet. For instance, you can choose to exclude or ignore forecast before August, so only forecast after that period is displayed.

This has a direct effect on the calculated demand. In the example, ignoring forecast before the chosen period changes the inventory level from minus 268 to minus 179. The earlier forecast no longer pulls the inventory profile down. This way you can see the current situation as it stands now, and then the future situation including forecast from the period you care about.

How the planning engine reads demand

The graphical profile gives you an overview of what the planning engine understands as demand when you run it with forecast included. By switching the forecast on and off, choosing the start date, and filtering by period, you can see exactly which numbers the planning engine will work with before you run a planning worksheet or requisition worksheet. That makes it a useful tool for checking your assumptions before you commit to a plan.

Q&A