Demand Forecasting for SolarPower Description:

Demand for 40W 12V monocrystalline solar panels at SolarPower from its Australian and the New Zealand markets for the last 12 months are as follows:

Month	Demand
Jan	7,530
Feb	7,590
Mar	7,580
Apr	7,530
May	7,460
Jun	7,440
Jul	7,490
Aug	7,470
Sep	7,510
Oct	7,490
Nov	7,480
Dec	7,520

Using the Excel:

A. Estimate demand for the next three using a 3-month moving average, simple exponential smoothing witha= 0.1, and Holt's model to estimate the demand witha= 0.1 andb= 0.2.

B. Evaluate the MAD, MAPE, bias, and TS (i.e., the KPIs) in each case. Which of the three methods is better? Why?

C. What should the values ofaandbin the Holt's model be to minimise the MAD?

D. Conduct your own research and find out what the solar panel manufacturing industry usually does in forecasting demand. You may wish to discuss the topic based on product value, product volume, and product flow as different product characteristics may require different methods to forecast the demand accurately. Give examples to support your arguments.