Classification for forecasting and stock control: a case study

Different stock keeping units (SKUs) are associated with different underlying demand structures, which in turn require different methods for forecasting and stock control. Consequently, there is a need to categorize SKUs and apply the most appropriate methods in each category. The way this task is performed has significant implications in terms of stock and customer satisfaction. Therefore, categorization rules constitute a vital element of intelligent inventory management systems. Very little work has been conducted in this area and, from the limited research to date, it is not clear how managers should classify demand patterns for forecasting and inventory management.