Summary
Custom Seasonality indexes are seasonality indexes that are user-defined, rather than being auto-calculated from the history of items or hierarchy levels within the forecasting hierarchy.
They can be based on a table of values that you actually type in manually, or can be derived from a set of filters that you enter in the configuration screen.
It is accessible by going to Admin --> System Configuration --> Custom Seasonality Indexes.
Adding / Editing / Deleting
To add a new index, click the "Add" button at the top of the screen. You can click on an existing index to edit it.
Attributes about the index will load in the form at the right side of the screen.
A pair of charts are shown in the bottom half of the screen, one for Monthly forecasting intervals, and the other for weekly.
Enter a name for your index and any notes you want associated with it.
The most important setting in the custom seasonality index is what type the index is table-based or filter-based.
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Table - This type of index is one where you manually enter a table of seasonality percentages that you've derived from your own analysis. You should enter at least the table for the forecasting interval that you use, e.g. if you are forecasting all items monthly, enter a monthly table. If you don't do any items weekly, then you don't really need to enter any specific values for this, but it is good to do so for completeness just in case. For table-based indexes, you will see a small table where you can enter values next to the chart. The chart will update in realtime as you change your values so you can visualize your index.
- NOTE: Enter your numbers as a percent of normal, e.g. 1.2 would be 120% of normal month, 0.80 as 80% of a normal month, etc.
- Filters - This type of index is used when you would like StockIQ to derive the seasonality for a given set of filters, such as "All items in category 'Audio' and customer group 'ECommerce'", or something similar. StockIQ will calculate the matching pattern for each monthly and weekly interval based on the demand history that matches the filters you enter. To configure your filters for a filter-based index, click the "Filters" button and enter your filters. Once you apply (or change) your filters, StockIQ will update the seasonality curve based on your options.
When you are done editing, click the "Save" button to save your index. It will now be available in Forecast Manager and the Edit Customer Seasonality screens for applying to your items.