Import a demand forecast to Microsoft Dynamics AX

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Important

This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 product documentation. For the latest release plans, see Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans.

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3

This topic describes how to import a demand forecast to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3. When you import the forecast to specific companies and forecast models, the demand forecast data becomes input for the requirements calculation in master planning.

Note

The procedure to import a demand forecast is the same, regardless of whether you have made adjustments to the forecast. For information about making adjustments to the forecast, see Adjust a demand forecast in Excel.

Prerequisites

The following table shows the prerequisites that must be in place before you start.

Category

Prerequisite

Setup

Demand forecasting has been set up. For more information, see Set up demand forecasting.

Data

A baseline forecast has been created. For more information, see Create a baseline forecast.

Import a demand forecast

To import a demand forecast to AX 2012 R3, follow these steps:

  1. Click Master planning > Periodic > Demand forecasting > Import forecast.

  2. On the General tab, in the Import settings field group, the Start field contains the start date of the most recent baseline forecast. The End field contains the end date of the forecast, based on the forecast bucket and forecast horizon that are defined in the Create statistical baseline forecast form. These are the default settings, but you can change them.

  3. Select the Save the manual adjustments made to the baseline demand forecast check box to make sure that adjustments to the demand forecast are saved after it has been imported.

    If you don’t select this check box, the adjustments are deleted after the forecast is imported. You can use this setting to discard all manual adjustments that have been made to the demand forecast.

  4. In the grid, use the Add and Remove buttons to select the companies and corresponding forecast models to which the demand forecast will be imported. By default, all companies for which there is forecast data in the cube are displayed. For each company, the Inventory forecast model that is defined for the static master plan in the Master plans form is also displayed by default. If you select a company for which there is no demand forecast data in the cube, a warning message is displayed.

  5. Click OK to import the demand forecast.

View the demand forecast in AX 2012 R3

To view the demand forecast, follow these steps:

  1. Click Inventory management > Inquiries > Forecast > Demand forecast.

    You can also open the demand forecast from one of the following locations.

    • Click Product information management > Common > Released products. Select a released product, and on the Action Pane, on the Plan tab, click Demand forecast.

    • Click Inventory management > Periodic > Forecast > Entry > Item groups. Select an item group, and then click Demand.

    • Click Accounts receivable > Common > Customers > All customers. Select a customer. On the Action Pane, on the Customer tab, click Forecast, and then select Forecast.

    • Click Accounts receivable > Setup > Customers > Customer groups. Select a customer group, and then click Forecast.

  2. In the Demand forecast form, on the Filter tab, select the criteria to display the demand forecast. For example, select a specific customer group and customer.

Set up demand forecasting

Create a baseline forecast

View a demand forecast in Excel

Adjust a demand forecast in Excel

Calculate past forecast accuracy

Remove outliers from historical transaction data when calculating a demand forecast

Technical information for system administrators

If you don't have access to the pages that are used to complete this task, contact your system administrator and provide the information that is shown in the following table.

Category

Prerequisite

Configuration keys

Click System administration > Setup > Licensing > License configuration. Expand the Trade license key, expand the Inventory forecast configuration key, and then select the Demand forecasting (ReqDemandPlanning) configuration key.

Security roles

Production planner

See also

Business process: demand forecasting