SCOT has evolved from a data sharing platform to a powerful resource for optimizing communication and supply chain management. One of the latest features, Forecast Sharing, enables you to check Metro ordering needs, be prepared with the needed product stocks and ensure seamless deliveries to Metro. This article will guide you through the new Forecast Sharing page.

What is Forecast Sharing?

With Forecast Sharing, you have access to Metro data projections in terms of orders they plan to place to you and sales expected in the Metro stores.

The page shows analytical data coming into SCOT once a week, every Tuesday. The forecast data is available for a total period of 13 weeks, starting with the current week. The analytics are defined at account level.

IMPORTANT! The access to Forecast Sharing is managed by your local Metro Supply Chain team. Please get in touch with your Metro representative to request or modify your access to the Forecast Sharing analytics.


As seen on the screenshot below, you can select the account you are interested in and use the available filters (Week Number, Article Variant details, Supplier Article details, GTIN, Category) to narrow down the results. Once the needed filters are applied, select Search.



The results table shows all the units in buying bundle quantities. The data set for the 13-week period is analyzed to highlight any outliers (orders that are significantly different from average volumes which are planned to be ordered or sold) in orange color.


The Forecast Sharing page is divided into three sections: Order Forecast, Sales Forecast and Base/Promo Forecast Split.


1. Order Forecast


The Order Forecast section shows information related to Metro order plan.

In their planning system - based on planned sales to customers, stocks and some other parameters - Metro plans how much should be ordered to cover their forecasted demand. This value, how much Metro plans to order from you, is displayed on this page.

The page consists of three charts and a grid. The data shown will reflect your selections from the search fields in the upper part of the page.

By using the top search filters, you can narrow the data down to a specific account, week or to one or several specific articles you are interested in.The charts and the grid below will then show the order forecast only for your selection.

You can also download this data by clicking on the download icon at the right corner of each pane.


Line chart 1:


This chart shows historical order volume in Business Units (BU) for the last four weeks.

Example: The above figure is shown while we are in Week 16. Historical order data for the previous four weeks is shown. Go with the mouse over the points to see details. For Week 15, the order volume is 106.2K.


Line chart 2:


This chart shows the overall forecast for all articles for each specific week. A total of 13 weeks - which is current week plus next 12 weeks - future forecast is shown here.



Bar Chart:

This chart shows top five articles which have the biggest volume of the forecast in Business Units (BU).



2. Sales Forecast


This section is similar to Order Forecast, only that here the Sales Forecast is displayed. Which means how much Metro expects to sell in stores to customers.


Sales Forecast consists of two charts and a grid. The data shown will reflect your search criteria from the upper search part of the page.

By using the top search filters, you can narrow the data down to a specific account, week or to one or several specific articles you are interested in.The charts and the grid below will then show the sales forecast only for your selection.

You can also download this data by clicking on the download icon at the right corner of each pane.



Line chart:

This chart shows the Sales Forecast of each article-variant-bundle-number.  And the forecast details are the same as what is shown in the grid.

Total of 13 weeks - which is current week plus next 12 weeks - future sales is shown here.



Bar chart:

The top five articles with the biggest sales are displayed here, from highest to lowest, in BUs.



 

3. Base/Promo Sales Forecast Split


This section is similar to Sales Forecast because it shows a projection of the expected sales in the Metro stores but brings a plus of information by presenting a split between:

  • Base Sales Forecast (projected sales during regular periods, no special activities)
  • Promo Sales Forecast (projected sales during promo periods, like winter holidays)


The Split Sales Forecast consists of three charts and a grid. The data shown will reflect your search criteria from the upper search part of the page.

By using the top search filters, you can narrow the data down to a specific account, week or to one or several specific articles you are interested in.The charts and the grid below will then show the split sales forecast only for your selection.

You can also download this data by clicking on the download icon at the right corner of each pane.



Line chart:

This chart shows the Base Sales Forecast (the light blue line), the Promo Sales Forecast (the dark blue line), as well as the Total Sales Forecast (the orange line) which is the sum of the previous two - all data in Business Units.

The chart reflects the data shown in the grid below. Sales forecast is available for 13 weeks. The first 13 columns show the SFB (Sales Forecast Base), the next 13 columns show the SFP (Sales Forecast Promo).


Note: SFP is applicable in case upcoming promo activities are introduced in the Metro data systems.


Bar chart 1:

The top five Base forecast articles with the maximum expected sales are displayed here, from highest to lowest.



Bar Chart 2:

The top five Promo forecast articles with the maximum expected sales are displayed here, from highest to lowest.



Good to Know about Forecast Sharing


Export Data


You can download any graph as PDF by clicking on the download icon in top right corner.


You can export any results grid as Excel by clicking on the download icon in the top right corner.

 

Customise, Sort & Filter Data

You can customize each results grid so you can see only the data that you need. Use the Configure Table drop-down to select which fields you wish to see in the grid and which fields to hide. Only the Article Variant Bundle Number field is mandatory.You can hide all the other fields to you enjoy a better visibility over the weekly forecast in the grid.

You can sort results in any column of the grid by clicking on the header of the column. A small arrow will show you if it is an ascending or descending sorting. A third click reverts order to the default data sorting.


You can filter results in any column of the grid by clicking on the filter icon available in each column header, at the right side of the header text.


To remove all filters, click on the remove filters icon placed near the Configure Table.