Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Demand Forecasting In Wholesale Alcohol Distribution: An Ensemble Approach, Tanvi Arora, Rajat Chandna, Stacy Conant, Bivin Sadler, Robert Slater

SMU Data Science Review

In this paper, historical data from a wholesale alcoholic beverage distributor was used to forecast sales demand. Demand forecasting is a vital part of the sale and distribution of many goods. Accurate forecasting can be used to optimize inventory, improve cash ow, and enhance customer service. However, demand forecasting is a challenging task due to the many unknowns that can impact sales, such as the weather and the state of the economy. While many studies focus effort on modeling consumer demand and endpoint retail sales, this study focused on demand forecasting from the distributor perspective. An ensemble approach was applied …