Brita's Prophecy Implementation - Database Structure
A prototype database was produced and iteratively refined. It contained details of all Brita's customers and products, but no actual data, in order to help define the most helpful database structure for the users. This process was quick, but let users see the actual system they would be using, and allowed the team to verify the formulae, recalculations and analyses available.
A single database spanning three years of history and two years of forecasts was decided upon, with forecasts developed by month. In addition, ‘month to date’ data could be read in on a daily basis and compared to the forecast. This way, an early warning could be obtained on short-term variances from forecasts.
The decision was made to model the forecasts from volumes, through standard prices and costs, promotional price reductions and discounts (percent or absolute) through to gross margin. Therefore, the profitability of each customer/product combination through time could be modelled, trended and analysed.
A complimentary set of ‘Budget’ facts was created so that sales to date and forecasts for the rest of the year could be compared against budgets. Again, this gave managers the ability to monitor and compare achieved sales/forecasts, identify the sources of gaps and be able to take appropriate action.
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News!
Works with Vista!
Prophecy is 100% tested and compatible with Windows Vista. The Prophecy on-line product tour shows Prophecy
running under Vista. Or click
here to view screenshots
of Prophecy running on Windows Vista.
Evaluation System News!
The Prophecy Evaluation System installation program
has been re-written to allow users who do not have Administrator rights to install
safely and securely, under any Windows version (including Vista). All users,
not just Administrators, can now give Prophecy a try!
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Just click and watch Prophecy, running
in your web browser! These 'Flash' demos start instantly and install no software
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Download the full Prophecy Client software, a sample database and a guided tutorial
document. Experience Prophecy running on your own PC.
Sales forecasting with Excel spreadsheets? This
comparison between Prophecy and Excel for sales forecasting shows the benefits
your business will enjoy by moving to Prophecy from Excel forecasting spreadsheets..
View our "Business case for Prophecy" pamphlet on line as a PDF or download it. This document
explains why Prophecy represents the best software solution for real world sales forecasting.
This article explains how Prophecy helps your business managers generate more effective
sales forecasts.
Sales forecasting is a critical business process which is hard to get right.
We present a discussion on the different approaches you can take to business forecasting
and a critical assessment of the relevance of statistical forecasting to the process
of business sales forecasting.
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