STEPHEN ROY LAURING
Pilots at Hillsview, Saint Paul, MN

2004014, Jul 29, 2004

Jan 24, 2003

10/350983

Stephen Lauring - Roseville MN, US
Brenda Jensen - Plymouth MN, US
Todd Curtis - St. Paul MN, US
Eric Taylor - Eden Prairie MN, US

G06F017/60

705/010000

The present invention is directed to a method and system to improve the accuracy of shipment forecasting in order to control inventory build and depletion periods. Precision in shipment forecasting stabilizes management of retail products or brands and the related or associated portfolio and connected business units. The process of the present invention involves the establishment of an initial data foundation that is created through the use of retail sales forecasts obtained from various consumer data sets. The system then applies one or more additional data sets that include information pertaining to historical shipments (actual sales) and inventory information to the first or foundation data set. These data sets are then reconciled with one another to obtain shipment forecast and inventory control levels. These commingled data sets provide a data pattern or map that is then used in conjunction with the retail sales forecast to assist in estimating future shipments for inventory demand or decline. The resulting information set provides a better or more accurate forecast of expected shipment volumes and projects inventory build or depletion periods thereby providing an improved forecasting tool to more accurately predict the retail environment's inventory position, thus facilitating better brand management.