Walkthrough and Tutorial
This video will take you through all the basic features and functions of the SalesForekast™ software. It is only about 5 minutes. If you are new to SalesForekast™ or wondering if it is right for you, you want to watch this video!
If you still have questions or want to talk about using SalesForekast™ for your company, reach out to us below!
SalesForekast™ Walkthrough and Tutorial
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What is SalesForekast™?
A: SalesForekast™ is a cloud-based software platform that correlates sales history with macroeconomic indicators as well as projects sales for a company, division, or even a product line based on the last five years of sales history. These projections are valuable in several areas including understanding the drivers of business, budgetary planning, valuations, etc. Large consulting firms provide similar, more customized services at significantly higher prices.
Q: How does SalesForekast™ create its sales forecasts?
A: SalesForekast™ develops a range of forecasted sales for up to three years in several ways:
Determines which of more than 30 macroeconomic indicators has a high correlation with company sales.
Correlates sales with those economic indicators to determine the best relationships and focuses on the 4-6 highest correlated variables.
Uses future forecasts of the correlated indicators to develop forecasts for your sales.
Finds the best fit for inherent sales trends based on the sales of a moving average that minimizes seasonality impact. It is ideal for companies with large, national customer base.
Q: Could I implement this style of reporting for myself?
A: You could do this yourself, but SalesForekast™ allows clients to forego days of tedious calculations and receive seasonally adjusted forecasts quickly, in a matter of seconds.
Q: Who created SalesForekast™?
A: This SaaS model has been developed by Rahul Kapur, who is a Managing Director at Icon Investment Partners, along with Guilford Group. Rahul Kapur has over 35 years of successful business experience. He works actively with Icon Investment Partners and their portfolio companies in strategy development, M&A, new product development, restructuring, geographic expansion, etc. Recent investments include Victor Technologies, Chromalox and Porex. Rahul has advised companies on sales forecasting processes and modeling for many years, has led numerous projects, and did analysis based on these models for Porex and Victor Technologies. SalesForekast™ has been developed based on his expertise. Rahul has been on a number of boards, including Innovolt, Smarter Remarketer, Pyrox, Con-space, WorkHere and Guilford Group. Rahul worked with Aearo Technologies, Dow Chemical and Unilever. He has an engineering and MBA degree as well.
Q: What geographic areas can SalesForekast™ analyze?
A: The software focuses on the US; though if US sales are significant (over 60% of total sales), the correlation with global sales can be high. This provides a capability for smaller to mid-sized companies that many Fortune 100 companies deploy. It is a valuable validation of your internal sales forecast and can help support your budget with your board or the market if you are part of a public company.
Q: WHAT INDICATORS DOES SalesForekast™ PROVIDE?
| Macroeconomic Variable | Description of Variable | Data Source |
|---|---|---|
| All Urban CPI (Current Series) (Index 1982-1984=100) | A measure that examines the changes in the price of a basket of goods and services purchased by urban consumers | U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| PPI Manufacturing (Index 2010=100) | A family of indexes that measures the average change in selling prices received by manufacturers of goods over time | Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development |
| Capacity Utilization: Total Industry | A metric used to measure the rate at which potential output levels are being met or used. Displayed as a percentage, capacity utilization levels give insight into the overall slack that is in the economy or a firm at a given point in time | Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System |
| Industrial Production (Index 2007=100) | A measure of output of the industrial sector of the economy. The industrial sector includes manufacturing, mining, and utilities | Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System |
| Employment, Nonfarm, (Thousands of Persons) | Employment in non---agricultural industries | U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Employment, Manufacturing (Thousands of Employees) | Employment in good---manufacturing industries | U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Employment, Services (Thousands of Persons) | Employment in the services industry | U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Employment, Government (Thousands of Persons) | Employment in local, state, and federal government | U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Employment, Agriculture (Thousands of Persons) | Employment in farming related industries | U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Real GDP (Billions of Chained 2009 Dollars) | A macroeconomic measure of the value of economic output adjusted for price changes (i.e., inflation or deflation) | U.S Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic |
| Private Nonresidential Fixed Investment | Measures spending by private businesses, nonprofit institutions, and households on fixed non—residential assets in the U.S. economy. Fixed assets consist of structures, equipment, and software that are used in the production of goods | U.S Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic |
| Real Domestic Final Sales of Motor Vehicle (Billions of Chained 2009 Dollars) | The number of domestically produced units of cars, SUVs, mini—vans, and light trucks that are sold. Motor vehicle sales are an economic indicator that records the reported sales by individual manufactures | U.S Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic |
| Total Commercial Construction Spending | Measures the amount of spending towards new commercial construction | U.S. Department of Commerce: Census Bureau |
| Residential Construction Spending (Millions of Dollars) | Measures the amount of spending towards new single-family homes and apartments construction | U.S. Department of Commerce: Census Bureau |
| Total Public Construction Spending Including Govt. | Construction of highways, streets, military reservations, water supply facilities, public school buildings, housing projects, and sewer systems | U.S. Department of Commerce: Census Bureau |
| Healthcare Construction (Millions of Dollars) | Included in this category are hospitals, mental hospitals, infirmaries, hospital infrastructure, clinics, medical offices, labs, doctor and dentist offices, outpatient clinics, research labs (non—manufacturing, non---educational, or non---hospital), nursing | U.S. Department of Commerce: Census Bureau |
| Real Personal Consumption: Energy Goods and Services | Measure of consumer spending on goods and services in the U.S. economy related to energy | U.S Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic |
| Military/Defense Spending (Billions of Chained 2009 Dollars) | The amount of financial resources dedicated by a nation to raising and maintaining an armed forces or other methods essential for defensive | U.S Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic |
| Personal Consumption: Food Services (Billions of Chained 2009 Dollars) | Annually measures total U.S. food expenditures by households | U.S Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic |
| Corporate Profits: Chemical Products | Corporate profits after tax of manufactured chemical goods | U.S Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic |
| Healthcare Spending,(Billions of Chained 2009 Dollars) | Healthcare spending consists of all expenditures or outlays for medical care, prevention, promotion, rehabilitation, community health activities, health administration and regulation and capital formation with the predominant objective of improving | U.S Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic |
| Consumer Sentiment Survey* Normalized | A statistical measurement and economic indicator of the overall health of the economy as determined by consumer opinion | U.S Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic |
| Total Business (Millions of Dollars) | Tracks the dollar amount of inventories held by retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers across the nation. Business inventories are essentially the amount of all products available to sell to other businesses and/or the end consumer | Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development |
| U.S. Total Retail Sales (Millions of Dollars) | An aggregated measure of the sales of retail goods over a stated time period, typically based on a data sampling that is extrapolated to model an entire country. It is compiled and released by the Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce | U.S. Department of Commerce: Census Bureau |
| U.S.E—Commerce (Millions of Dollars) | Includes all products and services ordered or booked via the internet on any device, including leisure and unmanaged business travel | Retail Indicators Branch, U.S. Census Bureau |