The Enhanced Forecasting Worksheet gives the user more control over the interaction between results coming from Azure ML (as configured on the Sales and Inventory Forecast Setup page) and demand forecasts in Business Central. The worksheet also allows for updating planning parameters on the Item card based on user-defined expressions that may involve forecasted quantities.

Enhanced Forecast Setup

1. Navigate to Enhanced Forecast Setup in Business Central.
2. Select Sales and Inventory Forecast Setup and adjust the settings, as needed.
3. Close the page to return to the Enhanced Forecast Setup page.
4. Input expressions for item planning parameter calculations into the following fields (Or use default expressions for an initial experiment):
   • Safety Stock Expression
   • Reorder Point Expression
   • Reorder Quantity Expression
   • Maximum Inventory Expression

5. Set the following fields as needed for the forecasted/calculated fields on the Enhanced Forecasting Worksheet:
   • Round Direction
   • Round Precision

Changes are automatically saved.

Enhanced Forecasting Worksheet

1. Navigate to Enhanced Forecasting Worksheet in Business Central.
2. Set the following fields as needed:
   • Item Filter
   • Item Category
   • Item Location
     Note: If your company is using multiple locations and SKUs, you must choose a single location to forecast; otherwise, the first SKU updates when applying the forecast.
   • Period Type
   • No. of Forecast Periods
   • No. of Past Periods
   • Confidence Level
   • Forecast Algorithm
3. Select Calculate Forecast.
4. Select Update Demand Forecast.
5. Select a demand forecast and select OK (sends results).
6. Select Update Item Planning (updates the following Planning FastTab fields with corresponding values: Safety Stock Quantity, Reorder Point, Reorder Quantity, and Maximum Inventory).

For information on calculated expression value capabilities, see Expression Evaluator.

Understanding the Forecast Results

After you select Calculate Forecast, the Enhanced Forecasting Worksheet displays the forecast results for each item, location, variant, and forecast period.

The forecast itself is generated using Microsoft Business Central forecasting functionality. The worksheet then presents those forecast results together with relevant item planning information such as Safety Stock Quantity, Reorder Point, Maximum Inventory, and Reorder Quantity.

Microsoft provides more information about the forecasting functionality here:

Forecasting API overview – Business Central

Location Code

Identifies the location for which the forecast was calculated.

Forecasts can be calculated separately for different item, location, and variant combinations. This is especially useful when planning parameters differ by location.

Item No.

Identifies the item being forecast.

The forecast is based on historical sales activity for the item over the number of past periods selected when calculating the forecast.

Item Variant Code

Identifies the item variant for which the forecast was calculated, when variants are being used.

This allows forecast results to be separated by variant rather than combining all activity for an item into a single forecast.

Item Description

Displays the description of the item being forecast.

This field is provided for identification and does not affect the forecast calculation.

Forecast Starting Date

Shows the first date of the forecast period represented by the row.

For example, if Period Type is set to Month, each row represents one forecast month and the Forecast Starting Date identifies the beginning of that month.

Microsoft forecasting organizes historical and predicted values into consistent time periods. For more information, see:

Forecasting API overview – Business Central

Forecast Ending Date

Shows the end of the forecast period represented by the row.

Together with Forecast Starting Date, this makes it clear which date range the predicted quantity applies to.

Predicted Value

The quantity that the forecasting model predicts will be required during the forecast period.

For example:

Predicted Value = 100

means that the forecasting model predicts demand of approximately 100 units during that forecast period.

The predicted quantity ultimately comes from Microsoft Business Central forecasting functionality.

The worksheet presents forecast demand as a positive quantity, even though Business Central may internally represent outbound sales quantities using negative values.

For more information about Microsoft’s forecast results, see:

Forecasting API overview – Business Central

Delta

Delta indicates the expected variance around the Predicted Value.

For example, if:

• Predicted Value = 100
• Delta = 10.5

then the predicted value is expected to fall approximately within the range:

89.5 to 110.5

This can also be thought of as:

Predicted Value – Delta through Predicted Value + Delta

A smaller Delta means the forecasting model has produced a narrower expected range. A larger Delta indicates greater uncertainty around the predicted value.

Microsoft describes this uncertainty as part of the forecast result and uses it to indicate the likely range around the prediction.

For more information, see:

Forecasting API overview – Business Central

Delta %

Delta % expresses the Delta relative to the Predicted Value as a percentage.

For example:

• Predicted Value = 100
• Delta = 10.5
• Delta % = approximately 10.5%

This makes it easier to compare forecast uncertainty between items with very different forecast quantities.

For example, a Delta of 10 units is relatively small when the Predicted Value is 1,000 units, but much more significant when the Predicted Value is only 20 units.

In general, the smaller the Delta % the better. A smaller percentage indicates that the predicted range is narrower relative to the forecast quantity, while a larger percentage indicates greater uncertainty.

Microsoft notes that forecasts with a relatively wide prediction range may be less useful, depending on the business scenario and the type of value being forecast.

See:

Forecasting API overview – Business Central

Safety Stock Quantity

Displays the Safety Stock Quantity currently associated with the item or Stockkeeping Unit.

This is a standard Business Central planning parameter rather than a forecast result.

Safety Stock Quantity represents inventory that is maintained to help protect against fluctuations in supply and demand.

For more information, see:

Design details: Planning parameters

Reorder Point

Displays the Reorder Point currently associated with the item or Stockkeeping Unit.

This is a standard Business Central planning parameter rather than a forecast result.

The Reorder Point identifies the inventory level at which replenishment should be considered for reordering policies that use a reorder point.

For more information, see:

Design details: Handling reordering policies

Maximum Inventory

Displays the Maximum Inventory quantity currently associated with the item or Stockkeeping Unit.

This is a standard Business Central planning parameter rather than a forecast result.

Maximum Inventory is primarily used with the Maximum Qty. reordering policy. When replenishment is required, Business Central can calculate a quantity intended to restore projected inventory toward the configured maximum level.

For more information, see:

Design details: Handling reordering policies

Reorder Quantity

Displays the Reorder Quantity currently associated with the item or Stockkeeping Unit.

This is a standard Business Central planning parameter rather than a forecast result.

Reorder Quantity is commonly used with the Fixed Reorder Qty. reordering policy as the standard replenishment quantity when planning determines that additional supply is required.

For more information, see:

Design details: Planning parameters

Where the Values Come From

Field	Source
Location Code	Business Central item/location information
Item No.	Business Central item information
Item Variant Code	Business Central item variant information
Item Description	Business Central Item
Forecast Starting Date	Microsoft forecast period
Forecast Ending Date	Forecast period displayed by the Enhanced Forecasting Worksheet
Predicted Value	Microsoft Business Central forecasting
Delta	Microsoft Business Central forecasting
Delta %	Microsoft Business Central forecasting
Safety Stock Quantity	Business Central Item/SKU planning parameters
Reorder Point	Business Central Item/SKU planning parameters
Maximum Inventory	Business Central Item/SKU planning parameters
Reorder Quantity	Business Central Item/SKU planning parameters

The Enhanced Forecasting Worksheet does not replace Microsoft’s forecasting engine. It uses Business Central’s forecasting functionality to generate the underlying prediction and uncertainty values, then gives planners a clearer way to review those results before updating a Demand Forecast or item planning parameters.

Additional Microsoft Documentation

• Forecasting API overview – Explains the forecast results and prediction ranges.
• Sales and Inventory Forecast extension – Provides an overview of Microsoft’s sales and inventory forecasting functionality.
• Design details: Planning parameters – Explains Safety Stock Quantity, Reorder Point, Maximum Inventory, Reorder Quantity, and related planning parameters.
• Design details: Handling reordering policies – Explains how planning parameters are used by Business Central reordering policies.