A Software Tool for Intermittent Demand Analysis

The forecasting of intermittent demand is a difficult task because of the irregular behavior of the demand process. As a result, the selection of an effective forecasting technique can be challenging. We present an object-oriented software framework for intermittent demand forecasting and inventory analysis. The object-oriented structure of this framework allows easy implementation and integration of new data sources, forecasting techniques, and forecast metrics. This framework is implemented in Java within a user interface and is named the CID (CELDi Intermittent Demand) Forecaster. Unique aspects of the final software product include the implementation of a large number of forecast metrics, the inclusion of most of the intermittent forecasting techniques found in the forecasting literature, and the inclusion of meta forecasting (see [11]).