Operations Management
1. Tutorial: Chapter 2 – Demand Forecasting – Blanks
Exercise 1: Basics of Demand Forecasting, Forecasting Methods
a) Explain the basic principles and the relevance of demand forecasting. What should be
considered for a good forecast?
b) Name and define the forecasting methods that were presented in the first lecture.
, Exercise 2: Causal Forecasts
The RoboTec Inc. – a manufacturer of industrial robots – is currently experiencing problems
fulfilling the customer demand for maintenance services. For example, not all maintenance
orders could be processed in the last quarter. In the future, the forecast quality should be
improved by applying a suitable forecasting method for estimating the expected number of
orders. Therefore, the RoboTec Inc. asks you to analyze the relation between the number of
robots installed at customers and the expected demand for maintenance service per quarter. You
receive the following information from the maintenance service department:
Installed Robots Requested Maintenance Hours
[Quantity] [Hours/Quarter]
5 50
15 72
30 116
50 150
100 270
150 330
200 450
a) Illustrate the relation between the number of robots installed and the requested
maintenance hours per quarter. Which forecasting method would you recommend to the
RoboTec Inc.?
450
Requested Maintenance Hours [Hours/Quarter]
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Installed Robots [Items]
2
1. Tutorial: Chapter 2 – Demand Forecasting – Blanks
Exercise 1: Basics of Demand Forecasting, Forecasting Methods
a) Explain the basic principles and the relevance of demand forecasting. What should be
considered for a good forecast?
b) Name and define the forecasting methods that were presented in the first lecture.
, Exercise 2: Causal Forecasts
The RoboTec Inc. – a manufacturer of industrial robots – is currently experiencing problems
fulfilling the customer demand for maintenance services. For example, not all maintenance
orders could be processed in the last quarter. In the future, the forecast quality should be
improved by applying a suitable forecasting method for estimating the expected number of
orders. Therefore, the RoboTec Inc. asks you to analyze the relation between the number of
robots installed at customers and the expected demand for maintenance service per quarter. You
receive the following information from the maintenance service department:
Installed Robots Requested Maintenance Hours
[Quantity] [Hours/Quarter]
5 50
15 72
30 116
50 150
100 270
150 330
200 450
a) Illustrate the relation between the number of robots installed and the requested
maintenance hours per quarter. Which forecasting method would you recommend to the
RoboTec Inc.?
450
Requested Maintenance Hours [Hours/Quarter]
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Installed Robots [Items]
2
