Demand Forecasting: Will Dynamics AX 2012 R3 deliver for supply chain pros?

In A Shift to Effective Demand Forecasting With Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, the Microsoft Dynamics AX product team highlights features of the upcoming release's planned demand forecasting tool, which will enables users to "forecast demand based on historical data, adjust the forecasted demand, and import the values into Microsoft Dynamics AX forecast models."

By design, the teams says Microsoft Dynamics AX utilizes the basic concepts of gathering the historical data, taking that data and generating a statistical forecast based on that demand, and then giving the user the ability to easily make changes to those forecasting recommendations in Microsoft Excel.

"Microsoft was able to utilize several of its existing solutions in order to create new functionality that will handle the demand forecasting requirements of our customers," the product team reports. "As a result of utilizing familiar Microsoft technology, demand forecasting will be a cost-effective solution." 

The product team says that the key to the effectiveness of demand forecasting is in the way it works seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, Excel, and SQL Server Analysis Services. The demand forecast generation starts inside Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3. "This forecast is quantity based and can be generated at different levels: item allocation key, released product variant, warehouse, customer, and by geographical area."

What does it take to win over supply chain experts?

Ann Grackin, CEO at ChainLink Research, says direct integration with SharePoint will ...