Question 1. United Colors of Benetton is facing a serious problem. The global fashion garment manufacturer and retailer is well known for its speed of new product introduction. The firm is planning to introduce its 2013 summer collection and wants to estimate demand. Demand from past years are shown below.
|
Year
|
Demand
(in millions)
|
Forecast
(in millions)
|
|
2004
|
150
|
140
|
|
2005
|
170
|
180
|
|
2006
|
190
|
190
|
|
2007
|
270
|
290
|
|
2008
|
220
|
270
|
|
2009
|
150
|
250
|
|
2010
|
290
|
260
|
|
2011
|
320
|
280
|
|
2012
|
300
|
310
|
Suggest a suitable forecasting method that Benetton could utilize while predicting demand for the upcoming year. Describe the important factors that should be considered while selecting the forecast method.
Question 2. Describe each of the five demand components in a time-series (of past demand data).