Forecast settings for generated profiles

[Former Member]

Hello experts,

I have two urgent questions:

1. Where can I the forecast model settings for the auto generated profile seen in the interactive planning.

I generated multiple profiles but I can only see the last one in the assignment screen MSDP_FCST2 and when press F4 for the forecast profile, I don't see the internally generated one.

If I want to see what settings were recorded for the previously (internally) generated profiles, where do I need to go?

2. I also notice there are two profiles assigned to the same selection, one from the manually created ones and the other from the internally generated ones.

Is this driven by some settings?

[rajkj · Accepted solution]

Hi Sap Apo,

1. You can find the details of generated profiles from table /SAPAPO/DP440G ( filter condition - WHERE GUID = 'J'). If you delete the generated profiles using t.code /sapapo/msdp_fcst2, this information will be lost. Other tables to be checked for individual profiles and selection ids etc - /SAPAPO/DP440* and /SAPAPO/DP_FCST2.

2. I came across one setting that control assignment of selection id and generated forecast profile and their persistence.

In interactive demand planning, access forecast profile settings from menu option SETTINGS -> Forecast Profile and check the 3 options available at last.

I hope this information will give some required details.

Thanks,

Rajesh

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks, Rajesh  for your help.

1. I was wondering if there was a more user-friendly way such as the forecast profile maintenance screen to view the forecast details. I will check these tables out.

Do you mind if I ask you another question? - I have some confusion in regards to the usage of auto model2.

a. Do we create a master profile specifying automodel 2 and assign it to some selections in b/g processing so every time f/c is run in b/g, auto-model will be used to create the forecast., or

b. We use auto-model only to generate FC profiles, review them, adjust them as necessary, and then use the generated profile  for forecasting (unchecking  the "always use job's profile" box)?

or.

c. both a and b. If so then are there some recommendations around it?

Your urgent help will be appreciated.

[rajkj · Accepted solution]

Hi Sap Apo,

1. SAP provided UI only for deleting the generated profiles.

2. It is possible to use auto-model 2 i.e. strategy 56 in the forecast profile. However, the intended purpose of this model is to select the most appropriate model based on the history. It runs different statistical tests to check for trend, sporadic nature, seasonality, forecast errors, etc. As the data volume grows, it becomes a performance hog. Typically, not recommended to use this strategy to generate forecast.

3. One of the best practices is to monitor the forecast accuracy (for instance tracking signal). If the tracking signal falls outside of the admissible limits, choose another model or appropriate model parameters using auto-model 2. Or, proactively use auto-model 2 periodically and compare the forecast accuracies. If there is a significant difference, you can change the forecast model. The periodicity depends on the nature of business and demand patterns - more the spikes in demand shorter the periodicity.

Thanks,

Rajesh

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Rajesh,

Thanks for your time and advise.

1. So, to summarize, to initially decide forecast models for various selections, one can use the auto model 2, to generate the recommended profile, review and use the model it has recommended, keep monitoring the model diagnostic metrics to regenerate the recommendations as necessary. Is my understanding correct?

2. Also, do you recommend re-naming the auto-generated profiles to more business-friendly names?

[rajkj · Accepted solution]

1. Regarding auto-model 2 usage, what you captured is correct.

2. You can reuse the auto generated profile technically by renaming it. However, the normal UI does not show up this profile as the GUID of this profile is set to 'J'. So, the person who executes the auto model 2 should rename the profile (creates a duplicate record) and use the new name for forecast profiles assignments manually. Another issue - if the generated profiles are deleted, all your renamed profiles along with assignments will be wiped out.

• It is recommended to define a new forecast profile based on the generated profile values.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thank, Rajesh. I have awarded the points.