Managing Forecast Events

This chapter provides an overview of forecast event management, lists common elements, and discusses how to:

Set up forecast event types and expense codes.
Create forecast events.
Calculate weight estimates.
Calculate period weights.
Reapply forecast weights.
Analyze forecast events.

Understanding Forecast Event Management

Forecasting events are distinct activities in the planning horizon that relate to promotions. Events help you manage multiple promotions across multiple time periods. To better understand the benefit of using the Forecast Event Management feature, you must be familiar with promotions that comprise events.

A promotion focuses on the marketing of a product through activities such as sales, increased advertising, or publicity. Promotions vary in practice. There might be a three-day sale or a month-long sale, a two-for-one campaign, or increased radio advertising. In forecasting, a promotion is an adjustment to a forecast in anticipation that a deviation in the forecast will occur.

The problem with producing a forecast with the least amount of error possible is that promotions have a significant incremental impact on future sales. They alter the volume and timing of sales, leading to a deviation from the statistical forecast.

Promotions that the system does not track through the Forecast Event Management feature have a one-time effect on forecast data. After the promotion, the system does not use the data; whereas, data from promotions that the system does track can be reapplied to future promotions of the same or similar items. This makes it possible for you to define the expected change in sales and adjust the forecasts.

PeopleSoft Demand Planning provides a way to analyze the effect of an event on demand enabling you to produce a more accurate future forecast. Using the Forecast Event Management feature, you can define an event and measure its impact in relation to:

The forecast upon which it is based.
Other events.
Various instances of the same event.
Items within the event.
Profitability.

You can apply historical actual sales against the statistical forecast to view the impact of similar prior events, giving you an idea of the size and duration of the event impact. As planned events become actual sales, the event becomes an historical event that the system can automatically reverse to provide adjusted demand data.

The Forecast Event Management feature is useful for organizations that need to make a large number of adjustments to planned future events through automation. The system calculates weight estimates by defining the impact of the event and applying it to specific items for specific time periods.

After you define an event, you can remove the effects of the event from the demand to make a judgment on the underlying demand trend. With data on the underlying trend, you might want to spread a promotion over several periods to smooth demand, or to, for example, pull back some demand into a prior period to help solve a supply problem.

With enough historical data and a definition of an event, you can predict the event’s impact on future demand more accurately.

This section discusses:

Forecast event weight setup.
Forecast event management setup.

Forecast Event Weight Setup

Weights are numerical representations of the importance of an event. The greater the number, the greater the effect of the event. The system measures the weight of the event period by period for the event throughout the event's duration. It also measures weight separately for each forecast item that you assign to the event. You can; however, after assigning an item to an event remove its effect on the event by using the Contributes to Weights check box.

For each period of the event, indicate the promotion pattern. This pattern indicates either that the actual promotion is ongoing or that the effect of the promotion is still relevant, even after the you finish the promotion. Along with the pattern, assign a weight that represents the effect of the period. The promotion pattern is an information-only setting, but the system uses the weight as the initial effect of the event. You can adjust the weights later.

You use event weights to:

Set up the event and its weights using the promotion pattern.
Make adjustments to the weights and calculate their effect on the forecast.
Reapply events and their weights for another promotion.

Reusing events gives you a chance to adjust event weights to more accurately reflect the effect of the event.

Forecast Event Management Setup

Understanding and defining events means the coordination of Forecast Event Management feature with the business practices and previous event history to arrive at a more accurate forecast.

Processes that go into planning events and using PeopleSoft Demand Planning to define and analyze events include:

Design views based on the organization's business needs.

You create views based on the need to perform business operations consistent with customer relationships. Customer relationships have a direct impact on the nature of the organization’s events, such as promotions.

Organizations vary widely in the number and types of promotions they run, and it is essential that the views reflect specific situations. For example, suppose that an organization has two large customers and a number of smaller customers. One of the large customers, Customer A, runs weekly promotions. The other large customer, Customer B, runs promotions every other week. The smaller customers run numerous promotions at various times.

The organization structures two views, one for Customer A and one for Customer B. You base both structures on promoted items. By breaking them out, the organization can give its two largest customers special treatment. For all of its smaller customers, the organization creates views broken down into two channels, pharmacies and supermarkets, because that structure fits all of those customers.

See Creating and Maintaining Forecast Views.
Gather event history.

A complete history of past events is important for setting up event management processing parameters. When you gather information on past events, make sure you ask these questions:
- What type of event was it?
- When was the event run?
- What was the duration of the event?
- What was targeted by the event?
  
  For example, did you target a customer, a group of customers, items, a group of items, a sales channel or region? A thorough event history is necessary for defining an event, and it also helps you to set up useful views.
Define event types and expense codes.

PeopleSoft Demand Planning includes a number of predefined event types and expense codes that you can change or delete. You can also add new types and codes.
Structure events.

When you structure an event, you describe the event and its promotion patterns, associate the event with forecast items, and define its instances.

Note. You can add the same event at multiple levels, but you must name it differently for each level. Also, a forecast item can have only one event instance that exists for any one period. That is, two event instances for the same item can’t overlap.

Use the Define Structure option on the Events menu to:
1. Enter attributes to describe the event, including the event type and its duration.
2. Establish event promotion patterns.
  
  Promotion patterns represent activities and their weighted impact on the forecast.
3. Define event items.
  
  You can add multiple forecast items to an event. For each item, you can specify an action code and an adjustment factor. Codes include Weight, Increase, Decrease, and Replace.
4. Create instances of the event.
  
  An instance of an event is a version of the event with the same description, number of periods, and associated items as the original event, but covering a different time frame than the original event. You can also adjust cost, price, and expense information for the event instance. The system automatically provides this information.
(Optional) Set up weights for the initial event.

Event weights are a measure of the relative importance of an event in forecast calculations. When you assign action codes for event items, select the Weight option and enter an adjustment value. This value is the weighted factor.
Reapply event weights.

Using this step, define which of the previously used events that you want to apply again. After making any adjustments, use the Reapply Event Weights option to reapply the event and its weights for another promotion.
Analyze event information.

Using the Review Event Comparison page, you can compare sets of period-by-period data for the forecast item. Use the Event Profitability Inquiry to view the promoted and nonpromoted contribution, expenses, and event impact for each event instance.

Common Elements Used in This Chapter

Comment	A free-flow text field where you can provide additional details about an event or elements of the event.
Event ID	Distinct activities in the planning horizon that relate to promotions. An event ID identifies a specific event.
Forecast View	Identifies the forecast view that contains the items for which you are planning events. You plan events for selected items within a forecast view.
Future Non Promoted Basis	Select an option in this group box to use in calculating event weights occurring in the future. Values include: Statistical Forecast: The forecast for each item, after the forecast start date, considering the item’s history in isolation. Prorated Forecast: The forecast, after the forecast start date, developed by factoring the group forecast down one level at a time to make the sum of the item forecast equal to the aggregate forecast. The prorated forecast tends to be more accurate than the statistical forecast. None: The system does not use adjusted data.
Future Promoted Values	A group box that displays future promoted values. The system default value is Adjusted Forecast. This is the forecast after you remove the effects of promotions or other events. You cannot change the field.
Historical Promoted Values	A group box that displays past promoted values. The system default value is Actual Demand. This is the demand before you remove the effects of promotions or other events. You cannot change the field.
Level	A portion of a view hierarchy. Each level definition contains descriptive and control data that relates to the operation of the forecast at each level within the view. You can add a new event to any level of a view at any time. However, an event effects only the level at which it exists. That is, if you add an event at level 1, you cannot set it up so that it also effects level 2 or level 3.
Historical Non Promoted Basis	A group box that contains forecast options from which you can select to calculate event weights that occurred in the past. The system calculates the ratio between promoted and nonpromoted values. For example, suppose that you select the Adjusted option for historical values on the Historical Non Promoted basis, then the calculation is: Actual Promoted Value for Selected Time Period Historical ÷ Adjusted Non Promoted Value for Selected Time Period Forecast values include: Adjusted Demand: The demand after adjustments are made to actual demand. Adjustments include removing the effects of promotions or other events. This option is selected by default. Historical Statistical Forecast: The forecast for each item, prior to the forecast start date, considering the item’s history in isolation. Historical Prorated Forecast: The forecast prior to the forecast start date. The system develops the forecast by factoring the group forecast down one level at a time to make the sum of the item forecast equal to the aggregate forecast. The prorated forecast tends to be more accurate than the statistical forecast. None: The system does not use historical data. This is the default value.

Setting Up Forecast Event Types and Expense Codes

An event type categorizes events into different groups for analysis by external systems. Event types are for informational purposes only. Expense codes help you to track event-related expenses.

PeopleSoft Demand Planning includes a number of predefined event types and expense codes; however, you can add new ones or change or delete the existing codes.

This section discusses how to:

Maintain event types.
Maintain expense codes.

Pages Used to Set Up Forecast Event Types and Expense Codes

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Define Event Types	DP_EVENTTYPES	Demand Planning, Process Forecast, Events, Define Types	Maintain event types by adding, changing, or deleting event types.
Define Event Expense Codes	DP_EXPENSECODES	Demand Planning, Process Forecast, Events, Define Expense Codes	Maintain expense codes by adding, changing or deleting event expense codes.

Maintaining Event Types

Access the Define Event Types page.

You can enter any combination of characters to create or change an event type. After you save the event, it becomes available for use in the system and appears in event drop-down lists.

Maintaining Expense Codes

Access the Define Event Expense Codes page.

Expense code IDs are numeric values only and can range from 1 to 99. The system uses the Description field to retrieve the code. This is a required field. The expense code is available for use after you save it.

Creating Forecast Events

This section provides an overview of event maintenance components and discusses how to:

Define event structures.
Establish event promotion patterns.
Define event items.
Define event instances.

Understanding Event Maintenance Components

You work with events at two stages. The first is when you initially set up an event. The other stage is when you reuse an event.

Event maintenance components include:

Event Header	Information contained on the Define Event Structure page includes the event, forecast view, level, and name. You can also access promotion patterns.
Forecast Items	Information on the Items page includes period information for action codes and adjustment values for an event item.
Instances	Instances are versions of an event at different times. Information on the Instances page includes the period and price and cost for each forecast item within an instance. Also, on the page are expense codes and values.

Pages Used to Create Forecast Events

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Define Event Structure	DP_EVENTS	Demand Planning, Process Forecast, Events, Define Structure	Define event structure. Specify the view and level of each unique event along with the event ID, description, event type, promotion pattern, and duration of the event’s effect.
Promotion Pattern	DP_EVENT_PROMPATT	Click the Promotion Pattern link on the Define Event Structure page.	Establish event promotion patterns. Define weights for each period within a promotion. The weights indicate the default value pattern of demand for the duration of the promotion.
Items	DP_EVENTS_2	Demand Planning, Process Forecast, Events, Define Structure, Items	Define event items. Assign forecast items to an event and define their action codes and adjustment values.
Instances	DP_EVENTS_3	Demand Planning, Process Forecast, Events, Define Structure, Instances	Define event instance information, including price, costs, and expense details.

Defining Event Structures

Access the Define Event Structure page.

Each event exists at a specific level within a view. However, you can create an event at any level of a view and roll up forecast and demand adjustments to higher levels using forecast adjustments or the Summarization process (DP_SUMMCALC).

Reapply All Instances on Save	Select to update all instances when you save the event, not just those instances that you changed.
Write Instance Comment to Item	Select to allow the user to save comments about an instance automatically when updating a forecast item. This allows you to keep track of where the comment originated.
Default Reapply Flag	Select to indicate that you want the event reapplied to the forecast after period-end processing. You can override this setting when you reapply event weights. When you select to reapply the event, the Recalculate and Reapply check boxes on other event pages are automatically selected for this event. You can override those settings manually.
Event Type	Select a type of event for descriptive information only. Establish event types using the Event Types page.
Duration	Enter the number of periods for which the event affects demand. The number of periods of duration can exceed the number of periods that the event is actually in operation. For example, a promotion that lasts three periods may continue to lift sales for two more periods. Alternatively, the promotion may result in decreased sales in the following periods as a result of increased stock holding by the customers. This field is required.
Promotion Pattern	Click to access the promotion pattern and its associated weights for each period. The number of forecast periods that you specify for the duration of the event determines the number of periods on the Promotion Patterns page.

Establishing Event Promotion Patterns

Access the Promotion Patterns page.

The promotion pattern that you enter reflects the event’s effect on the promotion. For each period that the event’s effect lasts, you can indicate whether the effect is promoted or impacted. You can also give that period a specific weight, or percentage impact, based on the projections. For example, suppose that a promotion increases demand by 25 percent, the weight is 1.25, but if a promotion decreases demand by 25 percent, the weight is .75. The default weight is 1.00.

Period	Displays the number of forecast periods specified for the duration of the event. The calendar and time period code defined for the forecast view on the Description page in the Forecast Views feature determine the start and end date of each period. Enter the type of pattern and its associated weights for each period in the promotion.
Activity	Select one of these values:Promoted or Impacted. Promoted periods are the length of the actual promotion while impacted periods indicate an event’s continued impact after the actual promotion. The system uses this field for informational purposes only.
Weight	Displays the relevant affect of the activity that you enter. Weights automatically appear as 1.000. You can change the weights on the grid, based on the projections. The greater the weight, the greater the affect. Weights that you enter are defaults for the items contained within this event only. Enter item-specific weights in the Adjustment field on the Items page.

Defining Event Items

Access the Items page.

Forecast Item	Select a value by using the forecast item full description or its short description. Items that you select are added to the event. Only items associated with the forecast view and event that you selected appear in the list.
Comment	Enter any additional information for the forecast item.
Period	Displays the number of periods that you entered as the duration on the Events page.
Action Code	Select an action code for the item in the corresponding period. Use the Adjustment field to define the amount of adjustment. Values include: Weight: The relative amount in each period that the demand for the item is expected to be affected during the event. For example, a value of 1.2 implies a 20 percent increase in demand, a value of .80 implies a 20 percent decrease in demand. A value of 1.0 assumes no change. Increase: An expected increase based on a known amount of demand for the item. The system adds this value to the forecast demand in the period. Decrease: The expected decrease of an absolute amount of an item. This is normally the result of increased sales of a promoted item. The system subtracts this value from the demand in the period. Replace: The absolute amount of the demand for the period. Use this code for a promotion that ends after you have sold a fixed number of promotional items. The system replaces the forecast demand value with this value.
Adjustment	Enter the amount of the adjustment to the activity code. The value initially appears by default from the Weight field on the Promotion Pattern page.

Defining Event Instances

Access the Instances page.

Instances are occurrences of an event at different times. Use this page to define one or more instances of an event. If a specific item requires a different price or cost, you can change it for each instance of the event. This is the item’s event cost and event price, and the system uses it to determine the profitability of the event.

Year/Period	Enter the four-character year and the two-character period to indicate the period in which this instance takes place.
Contributes to Weights	Select to indicate that you want the system to use this instance to calculate event weights.
Coupon Count	Enter the number of coupons issued for this instance. This is the total number of discounts available during the promotion period. This value is only for informational purposes, and you can use a numerical format to represent a total monetary value or actual coupons available. The value that you enter here appears on the Instance Summary page when you review event profitability.
Forecast Item	Displays the forecast item to which the corresponding price, cost, and expense information applies. You cannot change the value.
Event Price	Enter the price of the forecast item for this event during the time that you define in the Year/Period field. You can change the price if you are maintaining the event.
Event Cost	Enter the cost of the forecast item for this event.
Standard Price	Displays the normal price of the item. You define this value in the Standard Price/Cost group box on the Units tab of the Maintain Forecast Items feature.
Standard Cost	Displays the normal cost of the item. Define this value in the Standard Price/Cost group box on the Units tab of the Maintain Forecast Items feature.
Expense Code	Select an expense code. These are user-defined codes that represent the expenses associated with an event. You can define one or more expenses that occur with the event.
Value	Enter the monetary value for the expense. The Event Profitability review uses this value.

Calculating Weight Estimates

Before you make adjustments to the forecast and apply weights to it, you populate the promotion pattern's values. You should review new period weights and determine which instances of an event to use in calculating new period weights.

This section discusses how to:

Define event weights.
Define event weight options.

Pages Used to Calculate Weight Estimates

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Event Weights	DP_EVENTWEIGHTS	Demand Planning, Process Forecast, Events, Calculate Weight Estimates, Event Weights	Define event weights.
Weights Options	DP_EVENTWEIGHTS2	Demand Planning, Process Forecast, Events, Calculate Weight Estimates, Weights Options	Define event weight options.

Defining Event Weights

Access the Event Weights page.

The system calculates weights for periods that have an action code or weight on the Items page only. The system does not calculate periods with action codes of Increase, Decrease, and Replace.

To calculate weights for an event:

Select event IDs, periods and years, and forecast items for use in calculating new weight estimates.
Click Calculate to display the new weights in the Period Weights group box.
Click Save to write the new period weights to the promotion patterns for the forecast view and event.

Defining Event Weight Options

Access the Weights Options page.

Select a historical and a future nonpromoted basis forecast option that you want to use to calculate new weights.

Calculating Period Weights

This section provides an overview of period weight calculation and discusses how to:

Set up event details for weight estimates.
Set up items for weight estimates.
Define contributors to weight estimates.

Understanding Period Weight Calculation

After you populate the promotion pattern with its values using the Calculate Weight Estimates feature, you can optionally perform the update to the forecast and calculate weights for forecasts.

When you define an event instance during the forecast calculation, the system removes the impact of the event from the actual demand data and reflects the underlying demand in the adjusted demand. This removes the event from the demand data before the system uses it to calculate forecast future demand. After you determine the forecast, the system reapplies the effect of any instance of the event to the forecast. The adjusted forecast for the item includes the effect of the event.

If you have changed event weights either manually or by calculating event period weights, you might want to reapply them to existing instances for the event. If you initially added the event weights manually to the event, you might want to determine a more realistic weight based on actual performance over several instances of the event.

The system calculates the ratio between promoted and nonpromoted values. You can calculate event weights based on historical demand information or future forecast information. For PeopleSoft Demand Planning to calculate the weights for you, you must have stored at least 24 months of information for the system to use.

When you first create an event, you can select the Default Reapply Flag check box on the Description page to automatically include the event on the list of events that the system reapplies when it calculates period weights. You can change this setting later.

After you have weighted an event, you can:

Remove the effects of the event manually from any historical demand data.
Apply the event weights to a future forecast, creating a new adjusted forecast.

Note. If you have a large number of items and events, it might be impractical to remove the effects of events manually from historical demand. However, if you select the Auto Depromote option on the Tracking 1 page in the Control Groups menu, the system automatically depromotes history for you.

Pages Used to Calculate Period Weights

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Event Details	DP_CALCEVENTS	Demand Planning, Process Forecast, Events, Calculate Period Weights, Event Details	Set up event details for weight estimates. Select the historical or future nonpromoted basis for calculating event weights. Also contains display-only information about the event.
Item Weights	DP_CALCEVENTS_2	Demand Planning, Process Forecast, Events, Calculate Period Weights, Item Weights	Set up items for weight estimates. Review new item weights, designate which forecast item weights to recalculate, and calculate period weights
Contributors	DP_CALCEVENTS_3	Demand Planning, Process Forecast, Events, Calculate Period Weights, Contributors	Define contributors to weight estimates. Determine the instances of an event that you want to include or exclude from event weight calculations.

Setting Up Event Details for Weight Estimates

Access the Event Details page.

Select the historical and future nonpromoted basis that you want to use for calculation period weights.

Setting Up Items for Weight Estimates

Access the Item Weights page.

Forecast items that you associated with this event appear on this page with their default information. You associate items for the event using the Items page on the Define Structure menu. The weights and new weights, if any, for the item appear for each period in the Promotion Pattern group box.

Note. If you enter new weights manually for an item, clear the Recalculate check box to prevent the new weights from being replaced by the recalculated weights. You can change event weights manually on the Items page when defining the event structure.

Click Calculate to recalculate weights for the event items that you select to recalculate. You must select at least one item in the Event Items group box to create calculations. Click Recalculate to select the item.

Recalculate	Indicates whether or not the forecast item is included when you reapply event weights. The default for the field depends on how you set the Default Reapply Flag check box on the Events page when you define the event structure. If you select the check box, then the Recalculate check box is selected as the default. You can override the default by clearing the check box.
New Weight	Enter new weight values, if any, for each period. When you recalculate the period weight, the system evaluates the new weights for the period. You apply the weight when you save values on the page.

Defining Contributors to Weight Estimates

Access the Contributors page.

Select the Contributes check box to indicate that you want the weights of this period to contribute to event weight calculations.

Reapplying Event Weights

After you complete an event, you gain additional information about the accuracy of the forecast. By reapplying events and their weights, you can make adjustments to the forecast and plan for the next promotion with more accuracy. When you reapply event weights, you adjust the weights, if necessary, and use them again to plan for the next promotion.

You select the Reapply All Instances on Save check box on the Events page of the Define Structure feature to reapply all instances of an event. You do not use this page to save the event.

Although you can reapply events at any time, normally you reapply events after period-end processing or after forecast item simulation. You reapply events after period-end processing, because forecast information has likely changed. After you run simulation for a forecast item, events should reflect the new model or new parameters of an item.

Note. Make sure you select the roll-up options on the Control Data page of the Define Forecast Views feature before reapplying events. You usually reapply events at a specific level, but it is important to ensure that the system rolls up changes to other levels.

This section discusses how to maintain event weights for reuse.

Page Used to Reapply Event Weights

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Reapply Event Weights	DP_CALCREAPPLYEVNT	Demand Planning, Process Forecast, Events, Reapply Weights	Maintain event weights for reuse. Select an event to reapply to future forecasts, and run the Reapply Event Weights process.

Maintaining Event Weights for Reuse

Access the Reapply Event Weights page.

To use the event and weight data for the event again, click the Reapply check box for the event. Reapply event weights after making changes to the forecast, such as applying new forecast adjustments, prorating adjustments, or applying adjustments from a cross-view reconciliation.

Analyzing Forecast Events

This section provides an overview of event reviews and discusses how to:

Compare forecast item period data.
Define event inquiries.
View event-instance summary data.
View event-item details.

Understanding Event Reviews

You view and analyze events using the Event Comparison and Event Profitability reviews. You can compare item demand, forecast data, price data, or cost data by period, as well as inquire into the impact and contribution of each item associated with an event.

The Event Comparison pages display two separate sets of demand, forecast, price, and cost data by item for individual periods. Use the two sets of data to compare item data by corresponding periods. Select which sets of data to compare period-by-period. For example, you can compare actual demand for the first 12 periods of 2003 with the first 12 periods of 2004.

The Event Profitability review pages display promoted and nonpromoted contributors, expenses, and event impact data for each instance and items within each instance. You can view the profitability of an event by forecast item and by instance. You can view promoted and nonpromoted data, expenses, and the event impact for each instance, as well as promoted and nonpromoted data and event impact for the items within each instance.

By comparing promoted and nonpromoted costs and profits, you can see the profitability of an item or instance with the event or without the event.

Pages Used to Analyze Events

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Review Event Comparison	DP_EVENTINQUIRY	Demand Planning, Review Forecast Information, Event Comparison, Review Event Comparison	Compare forecast item period data.
Event Profitability	DP_EVENTPROFITINQ	Demand Planning, Review Forecast Information, Event Profitability, Event Profitability	Define event inquiries. Specify the nonpromoted basis criteria for viewing profitability calculations on the Instance Summary and Item Details pages.
Instance Summary	DP_EVENTPROFITINQ2	Demand Planning, Review Forecast Information, Event Profitability, Instance Summary	View event-instance summary data. View the promoted and nonpromoted contribution, expenses, and event impact for each event instance. Expense amounts are listed by individual expense code, as well as in summary, for each instance.
Item Details	DP_EVENTPROFITINQ3	Demand Planning, Review Forecast Information, Event Profitability, Item Details	View event-item details. View the promoted and nonpromoted contribution and event effect for each item of the instance.

Comparing Forecast Item Period Data

Access the Review Event Comparison page.

Using this page, you can select between two different of sets of data and review the differences in the effect of an event. The data includes item demand, forecast data, price data, and cost data and is divided into periods.

In addition, the system interactively graphs the comparison as you select different sets of data.

To compare event data:

Select a set of data in Field 1 that you want to compare to the set that you define in Field 2.
Enter a number in the Offset field that determines the number of periods difference between Field 1 and Field 2.
Click Refresh.
Use the Comparison Chart group box to review the differences graphically.
Use the Field 1 Value and Field 2 Value fields in the display areas at the bottom of the page to view the numerical differences in the values that you select.

Note. If you do not enter values to compare, the Comparison Chart and grids do not display data.

Field 1	Select a set of data that you want to compare. Use this field in conjunction with Field 2 to make comparisons. Comparison type selections are identical for both fields. The results appear in the lower portion of the page. Forecast values and data sets available for comparison include: Actual Demand:Actual historical demand quantities or known future demand. Adjusted Demand:Demand after you make adjustments to actual demand. Adjustments include removing the effects of promotions. Adjusted Forecast: A statistical forecast to which adjustments were made. Adjustments include: Management overrides Proration Summarization Period Cost: A forecast item's period cost. Period Price: A forecast item's period price. Prorated Forecast: A forecast, after the forecast start date, that you develop by factoring the group forecast down one level at a time to make the sum of the item forecast equal to the aggregate forecast. Statistical Forecast: A forecast for each item, after the forecast start date, considering the item’s history in isolation.
Offset	Enter the number of periods that you want to compare forward or backward. The value that you enter determines the number of periods difference between Field 1 and Field 2.
Field 2	Use this field in conjunction with Field 1 to select the types of data to compare for a forecast item. The options for Field 2 are the same as the options for Field 1.
Field 1 Value	This value comes from the forecast and period that you select in Field 1. If the system associates an event with the period, it appears as well. Compare the value in this field with the value that appears in the Field 2 Value field.
Field 2 Value	This value comes from the forecast and period that you select in Field 2. If the system associates an event with the period, it appears as well. You compare the value in this field with the value in the Field 1 Value field.

Defining Event Inquiries

Access the Event Profitability page.

Select one historical and future forecast option on which to base the inquiry. Use the remaining event profitability pages to review the details of the selection.

Viewing Event-Instance Summary Data

Access the Instance Summary page.

All fields on this page are display-only. Values on this page depend on the selections that you make on the Event Profitability page.

Year/Period	Displays the year and period in which the instance occurs.
Coupon Count	Displays the number of coupons issued for this instance. This is the total number of discounts available during the promotion period. You define this value using the Instances page in the Define Structure menu.
Nonpromoted Contribution	Displays the sum of each nonpromoted basis value, multiplied by the standard price, minus the standard cost for the event instance for the duration of the event.
Expenses	Displays the total expenses for this instance. If you have more than one expense code, totals for each code appear in the Expenses group box.
Promoted Contribution	Displays the promoted value for this instance. The value is multiplied by either the promotion price or the standard price, if a promoted price does not exist, minus either the promoted cost or the standard cost if a promoted cost does not exist.
Event Impact	Displays the monetary effect the event has on the forecast. This value is the promoted contribution value minus the nonpromoted contribution value.
Expense Code	Displays the numeric value for the expense codes. These codes help you to track event-related expenses.
Value	Displays the monetary value of this expense code. If you have more than one code, the total value appears in the Expenses field.

Viewing Event Item Details

Access the Item Details page.

All fields on this page are display-only. Values in this page depend on the selections that you make on the Event Profitability page.

NonPromoted Contribution	Displays the sum of each nonpromoted basis value, multiplied by the standard price, minus the standard cost for the forecast item for the duration of the event.
Promoted Contribution	Displays the sum of each promoted value multiplied by either the promotion price or the standard price, if a promoted price does not exist, minus either the promoted cost or the standard cost if a promoted cost does not exist. The system also sums these values for the duration of the event.
Event Impact	Displays the monetary effect that the event has on the forecast. This value is the promoted contribution value minus the nonpromoted contribution value.