Your first collaborative cycle
Walk through a full collaborative forecast cycle: from Baseline (AI) to Sales, Marketing and Consensus.
By the end of this tutorial you will have edited values in at least one phase assigned to you and understand how the cycle advances until Consensus closes the month.
What you will need
- Access to AInventory with a role that has at least one phase assigned (Sales or Marketing).
- An open forecast period (the current month's version).
Your company configures how many phases exist and who edits them. The typical sequence is: Baseline (AI) → Sales → Marketing → Consensus. If your company uses different names, the logic is the same.
Step 1 — Open the Forecast module
- In the sidebar, click Forecast.
- You will see the main view with the SKU grid. Each column represents a period (month); each row, a SKU.
- Confirm that the version selector (top corner) shows the month you want to work on.
TODO: screenshot of the Forecast module main view
Step 2 — Understand the phase grid
The phase bar at the top of the grid shows which phase you are on. Phases you are not assigned to appear as read-only; phases you are assigned to are editable.
| Phase | Description |
|---|---|
| Baseline (AI) | Forecast automatically generated by the statistical model. Read-only for all users. |
| Sales | The sales team adjusts the Baseline with field knowledge. |
| Marketing | The marketing team incorporates the impact of campaigns, promotions and events. |
| Consensus | The final phase of the cycle. Consolidates input from all phases. Only the coordinator closes here. |
TODO: screenshot of the phase bar with the active phase highlighted
Step 3 — Navigate to your assigned phase
- Click the tab for your phase (for example, Sales).
- The grid updates the values and highlights the cells you can edit.
- Review the period columns: the system shows the months of the planning horizon configured by your company.
TODO: screenshot of the grid with editable cells highlighted
Step 4 — Edit the forecast for a SKU
You will adjust the value of one SKU for the current period:
- Locate the SKU in the list (use the search bar if the list is long).
- Double-click the cell for the period you want to edit. The cell enters edit mode.
- Type the new value (integer or decimal depending on the SKU's unit of measure).
- Press Enter to confirm. The system saves the change immediately; there is no "Save" button.
Every edit is logged in the history with your user name, a timestamp and the source "Manual edit". If you make a mistake, double-click the cell again and correct the value.
TODO: screenshot of edit mode (active cell with cursor)
Step 5 — Review changes before Consensus
Before the coordinator closes the cycle in Consensus, it is worth checking:
- All critical SKUs have a non-zero value in the active periods.
- There are no negative values or figures clearly out of range.
- If you have doubts about a SKU, leave a comment in the internal channel or contact the coordinator.
Step 6 — Consensus closes the cycle
The process coordinator is the one who works the Consensus phase. This phase:
- Shows the values from all previous phases side by side (Baseline, Sales, Marketing).
- Allows the coordinator to adjust or select the final value for each SKU and period.
- When the version is closed, the Consensus values are frozen and feed:
- The accuracy KPIs (BIAS, MAE, MAPE, Accuracy, RMSE) calculated against actual demand.
- The FVA (Forecast Value Added) that measures whether each phase added value over the Baseline.
An open month can still be edited, but its KPIs are not updated against actual demand until it is closed. Always close the previous month's version before starting the next month's cycle.
TODO: screenshot of the Consensus phase with the comparative phase view
Result
You completed a full collaborative forecast cycle: you edited values in your phase, the coordinator consolidated Consensus and, once the version is closed, the system will calculate the accuracy KPIs.
Next step: learn to read those indicators in Interpret your first KPIs.