View a demand forecast in Excel

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3

This topic describes how to view a demand forecast in an Excel file. You perform this task after you have created a baseline forecast, and it has been saved and stored in a Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services cube.

Prerequisites

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

View a demand forecast

To view a demand forecast, follow these steps:

1. Open the demand forecast file. You can do this in the following ways:

   • After you generate a baseline forecast, and the Infolog informs you that the baseline forecast has been created, double-click the Infolog or click Open Excel file.

   • After a baseline forecast has been created, browse to the location that you specified in the Excel demand forecast file path field. This field is located in the Demand forecasting parameters form and the Create statistical baseline forecast form.

2. In the Excel file, click Enable Content. This enables the content in the PivotTable report, so that you can modify it. You only need to do this step the first time that you open the Excel file.

3. In the Forecast information sheet, view a summary of the parameters that were used to create the baseline forecast.

4. In the Forecast table sheet, view the forecasted quantities. The cells are color-coded according to the following rules:

   • Forecasted quantities are not highlighted.

   • Historical quantities are highlighted in gray.

   • Forecasted quantities that are frozen are highlighted in yellow.

5. In the Forecast table sheet, in the PivotTable Field List, specify how to filter and display the forecast data that is stored in the cube. For example, you can display only the forecasted quantities, or you can display both the forecasted quantities and the historical data. The historical data is displayed as actual demand.

For more information about how to use PowerPivot tools, see How to Use the SQL Server Data Mining Add-ins with PowerPivot for Excel and Analytics in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Next step

After you view and analyze the demand forecast, you can adjust the forecasted quantities. For more information, see Adjust a demand forecast in Excel.

Related tasks

Set up demand forecasting

Create a baseline forecast

Adjust a demand forecast in Excel

Import a demand forecast to Microsoft Dynamics AX

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.

See also

Business process: demand forecasting