Summary
Events are a very important topic in StockIQ, so they get their own section.
At a high level, an event is a special occasion (one time event) such as a promotion/discount, a new store
opening by a client, or any other unusual, notable, or temporary change in your
demand stream.
IMPORTANT: The key word here is TEMPORARY. Events are meant to explain something unusual, not something you expect to be part of normal, ongoing demand.
An example of an event is your sales team running a 20% promotion this fall to see if there is an uplift in demand.
Another example is a run on a particular SKU due to a cold snap or natural disaster. This is not something you expect to happen each year.
An example of something that is NOT an event is an annual seasonal bump for Christmas. This is not an event, this is seasonality.
Historical Events
There are two main functions of events. Entering events to "explain" historical sales data improves forecast accuracy, since the system can disregard exceptional data where appropriate, and generate better forward-looking forecasts. This is sometimes known as 'Historical Data Cleansing'. Historical events will have impact on forward looking forecasts as statistical forecast models will be decreased when you enter in Lost Customer information.
Future Events
Events are also the mechanism by which StockIQ modifies forecasts. Entering a future event may increase the Forecast so that replenishment accounts for the Event.
Entering Events
Events can be created in StockIQ through the Event Editor, by importing them in the Import Events screen, or by marking Sales Orders as "Exceptional" in your ERP system, in which case StockIQ will create the events for you.
So, get comfortable with events!