Perhaps forecasting is a little of both, crystal ball and competitive edge. It’s a crystal ball of sorts because it helps leaders get answers to questions like, “How many? Or, “How much?” to decide what actions best help the business. And it’s definitely a competitive edge when it results in better decisions.

So, for businesses that have long relied on the intuition and experience of managers, what happens when a third factor—analytic-based forecasting—is added to the business arsenal? With use of sophisticated algorithms in SAS Forecast Server organizations can make more reliable decisions, be more effective and increase the bottom line.

Any industry with time stamped historical data can benefit from analytics algorithms based on forecasting principles.

Banks can forecast how much cash needs to be available in a certain ATM on a given day. Retailers can determine which items to keep in stock, and which need to be marked down. Travel and hospitality firms can forecast pricing over time to yield maximum revenue. SAS Forecast Server can do this and more.

To delve into what analytic-based forecasting can do, please watch this short animated video narrated by Udo Sglavo, SAS Senior Director, Advanced Analytics R&D:

You can visit the SAS Forecasting page to learn more. Resources there include webcasts, customer case studies, output samples, whitepapers and more.