Set A. Forecasts based on averages. Given the following data:

Period Number of Complaints

1 60

2 65

3 55

4 58

5 64

Prepare a forecast for period 6 using each of these approaches:

1. The appropriate naive approach.
2. A three-period moving average.
3. A weighted average using weights of .50 (most recent), .30, and .20.
4. Exponential smoothing with a smoothing constant of .40.

Set B

National Scan, Inc., sells radio frequency inventory tags. Monthly sales for a seven-month period were as follows:

Month Sales (000 units)

Feb. 19

Mar. 18

Apr. 15

May 20

Jun. 18

Jul. 22

Aug. 20

1. Plot the monthly data on a graph, using Excel. Copy-Paste this graph on your Word sheet .
2. Forecast September sales volume using each of the following:

(1) The naive approach

(2) A five-month moving average

(3) A weighted average using .60 for August, .30 for July, and .10 for June

(4) Exponential smoothing with a smoothing constant equal to .20, assuming a a March forecast of 19(000)

(5) A linear trend equation