Forecasting in Operations Management. Forecasting can prevent waste and present the right product or service at the correct time for the customer. This builds customer satisfaction and profitability for a company. We will cover the qualitative (based upon expert decisions) and the quantitative (built upon numbers) forecasting methods and consider elements of both types of approaches. We will consider the Whys and Hows of forecasting and have an exercise where you will be able to build a forecast. Additionally, we will review real life examples of forecasting and how it is used in different types of organizations.

Explain in your own words if you feel that forecasting is/is not an approach that is nearing an exact science.

Describe what forecasting model did you most appreciate and how you can see using it in your workplace.

Do you think that the quantitative or qualitative approach, or both, are most precise? Explain why.