Quick Start Guided Demo
Introduction to SAC Planning
Story Telling
Build a Model
Profitability
Forecast
Data Actions
Value Driver Tree
Collaboration
Seamless Planning

Revised Forecast

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to revise the Forecast.

With the knowledge we gained from the Profitability Analysis, we can now create a new Forecast. We will reduce the sales of Venus product and make some other changes to adjust the future sales numbers.

  1. Select the Table which was created in the previous section.

  2. Under Tools, select the (…) More button, then Version Management.

  1. Move over to the Version Management settings panel on the right.

Note: By default, the toggle for Show versions in use only may be activated. If it is active on entry, and you do not see Forecast appearing under Public Versions, deselect the toggle to get the Forecast version to appear. If Forecast is already appearing then you do not need to deselect the toggle.

  1. Under the Public Versions section, select the Copy icon next to Forecast.

  1. Enter the Version Name ForecastRevAft20Q1.

Note

A version is a set of data from the database, viewed in a table. To control who can access a version, you make the versions public, private, or shared. Version management control allows you to use the existing categories in a table to create new private versions.
  1. Select Copy.

  1. Select Close at the bottom of the Version Management panel.

  1. Refresh the story so all charts will have the new version available by selecting the Data Refresh icon then Data Refresh.

  1. Select the Product Sales per Date, Forecast chart.

  1. In the Builder panel on the right-hand side, scroll down to the Color section and select +Add Version.

  1. Select our new version ForecastRevAft201Q1.

Note

If

  1. Select the Show As options beside ForecastRevAft201Q1.

  2. Select the Triangle display option for the new forecast.

  1. The Product Sales per Date bar chart should now look like this:

  1. Select the table (PnL_Admin).

  1. In the Builder, under the Columns section, modify the Version filter by hovering and selecting the filter icon.

  1. Ensure that Forecast is de-selected from the Available Members. This will leave just Actual and ForecastRevAft20Q1 selected. Then click OK.

  1. With the table still selected, click on Styling (using the tab at the top or the icon in the right panel), then under the Number Format section, set Decimal Places to 0. This will tidy up the values in the table.

  1. Save your story by clicking the Save icon > Save.

  1. Your charts should now look like this:

Modify the Forecast Version

  1. Select View to put story in View mode.

Note

The Story opens in View mode in a
  1. Within our PnL_Admin table chart, under Actual, expand United States (all) > 2020 (You may have to scroll to the right to see the content). Then select the first cell under Q1 (2020).

  1. Copy the cell using the Ctrl+C.

  1. Under ForecastRevAft20Q1 expand United States (all) > 2020 (you may have to scroll back to see the content). Click on the first cell of Q1 (2020) > All Product Lines.

  1. Paste the copied cell (using the Ctrl+V) from Actuals Q1 (2020). (If you have lost your copied cell, go back to cell Q1 2020 within Actuals and copy again)

  2. You will see that the values under ForecastRevAft20Q1 have been updated.

  1. Under ForecastRevAft20Q1, under United States (all) > All Product Lines > First Person Star > Mercury, select the cell Q2 (2020).

  1. Enter -25% (minus 25%) and hit the return key.

  1. We can then see that this cells value, which was previously $20,771, has been reduced by 25% to $15,578. Subsequently the other highlighted cells have been adjusted too.

  1. Still under ForecastRevAft20Q1, and United States (all) locate the two cells Mercury > Q3 (2020) and Mercury > Q4 (2020).

  1. Enter the value 0 (zero) in both cells and hit the return key. After entering the values, you will see the changes reflected in all the associated cells:

  1. Collapse First Person Star.

  1. Go to cell All Product Lines > Q3(2020).

  1. Enter -10% (minus 10%) and hit the return key. The associated data values are automatically reduced by 10%.

  1. Right click on any cell in the same grid and select Table Functions > Value Lock Management.

  1. Select the Create Locks icon. Once it is selected, return to the grid table chart.

  1. Select the cell First Person Star > Q3(2020) (This selection will populate our Value Lock Management settings). Then select Save (in the bottom right corner of the Value Lock Management panel).

  1. Select the cell All Product Lines > Q3 (2020) enter -10% (minus 10%) and hit enter.

Note

All other cells in this column decreased by 10% except for the

  1. Re-open the Value Lock Management panel (right-click on a table cell > Table Functions > Value Lock Management).

  1. In the Value Lock Management panel select Clear all then Done.

  1. In cell All Product Lines > Q3 (2020) enter the value 87,593 and hit the return key.

  2. Now all values within this column get increased, even the cell we had locked earlier.

Distribution

Distribution Values are ways of allocating values in a table to one or more target cells. These features can help you quickly book new values and adjust existing values in a table.

The Distribute functionality is contained in the Planning Panel.

  1. Select the cell All Product lines > ForecastRevAft20Q1 > Q4 (2020)

  1. Select the More Actions (…) menu, choose Distribute Values. This will bring up the Planning Panel on the right.

Note

The Planning Panel is used to set the distribution of values. This now gives us a value of
  1. First, close the Recommendations panel, then open the Distribution Key drop-down and select Input Weights.

Note

Now we will create our own distribution of values.
  1. In the table, select the cells for First Person Star and Strategy under the column Q3(2020).

  1. This will generate text boxes in the Where to? section of the Planning Panel for First Person Star and Strategy.

  1. Enter the values from the two cells into their relative text box in the Planning Panel:

    • First Person Star - 51,341
    • Strategy - 36,252

  1. Selecting the Preview results in Table button at the top of the Where to? section allows us to see the updated values within the table before we apply them.

  1. Select Apply to finish.

  1. The Q4 value of 82,131 is now distributed to the product categories within the Q3 column based on the Q3 trend. Your table should now look like this:

With the knowledge we gained from the Profitability Analysis, we can now create a new Forecast. We will reduce the sales of Venus product and make some other changes to adjust the future sales numbers.

  1. Select the Table which was created in the previous section.

  2. Under Tools, select the (…) More button, then Version Management.

  1. Move over to the Version Management settings panel on the right.

Note: By default, the toggle for Show versions in use only may be activated. If it is active on entry, and you do not see Forecast appearing under Public Versions, deselect the toggle to get the Forecast version to appear. If Forecast is already appearing then you do not need to deselect the toggle.

  1. Under the Public Versions section, select the Copy icon next to Forecast.

  1. Enter the Version Name ForecastRevAft20Q1.

Note

A version is a set of data from the database, viewed in a table. To control who can access a version, you make the versions public, private, or shared. Version management control allows you to use the existing categories in a table to create new private versions.
  1. Select Copy.

  1. Select Close at the bottom of the Version Management panel.

  1. Refresh the story so all charts will have the new version available by selecting the Data Refresh icon then Data Refresh.

  1. Select the Product Sales per Date, Forecast chart.

  1. In the Builder panel on the right-hand side, scroll down to the Color section and select +Add Version.

  1. Select our new version ForecastRevAft201Q1.

Note

If

  1. Select the Show As options beside ForecastRevAft201Q1.

  2. Select the Triangle display option for the new forecast.

  1. The Product Sales per Date bar chart should now look like this:

  1. Select the table (PnL_Admin).

  1. In the Builder, under the Columns section, modify the Version filter by hovering and selecting the filter icon.

  1. Ensure that Forecast is de-selected from the Available Members. This will leave just Actual and ForecastRevAft20Q1 selected. Then click OK.

  1. With the table still selected, click on Styling (using the tab at the top or the icon in the right panel), then under the Number Format section, set Decimal Places to 0. This will tidy up the values in the table.

  1. Save your story by clicking the Save icon > Save.

  1. Your charts should now look like this:

Modify the Forecast Version

  1. Select View to put story in View mode.

Note

The Story opens in View mode in a
  1. Within our PnL_Admin table chart, under Actual, expand United States (all) > 2020 (You may have to scroll to the right to see the content). Then select the first cell under Q1 (2020).

  1. Copy the cell using the Ctrl+C.

  1. Under ForecastRevAft20Q1 expand United States (all) > 2020 (you may have to scroll back to see the content). Click on the first cell of Q1 (2020) > All Product Lines.

  1. Paste the copied cell (using the Ctrl+V) from Actuals Q1 (2020). (If you have lost your copied cell, go back to cell Q1 2020 within Actuals and copy again)

  2. You will see that the values under ForecastRevAft20Q1 have been updated.

  1. Under ForecastRevAft20Q1, under United States (all) > All Product Lines > First Person Star > Mercury, select the cell Q2 (2020).

  1. Enter -25% (minus 25%) and hit the return key.

  1. We can then see that this cells value, which was previously $20,771, has been reduced by 25% to $15,578. Subsequently the other highlighted cells have been adjusted too.

  1. Still under ForecastRevAft20Q1, and United States (all) locate the two cells Mercury > Q3 (2020) and Mercury > Q4 (2020).

  1. Enter the value 0 (zero) in both cells and hit the return key. After entering the values, you will see the changes reflected in all the associated cells:

  1. Collapse First Person Star.

  1. Go to cell All Product Lines > Q3(2020).

  1. Enter -10% (minus 10%) and hit the return key. The associated data values are automatically reduced by 10%.

  1. Right click on any cell in the same grid and select Table Functions > Value Lock Management.

  1. Select the Create Locks icon. Once it is selected, return to the grid table chart.

  1. Select the cell First Person Star > Q3(2020) (This selection will populate our Value Lock Management settings). Then select Save (in the bottom right corner of the Value Lock Management panel).

  1. Select the cell All Product Lines > Q3 (2020) enter -10% (minus 10%) and hit enter.

Note

All other cells in this column decreased by 10% except for the

  1. Re-open the Value Lock Management panel (right-click on a table cell > Table Functions > Value Lock Management).

  1. In the Value Lock Management panel select Clear all then Done.

  1. In cell All Product Lines > Q3 (2020) enter the value 87,593 and hit the return key.

  2. Now all values within this column get increased, even the cell we had locked earlier.

Distribution

Distribution Values are ways of allocating values in a table to one or more target cells. These features can help you quickly book new values and adjust existing values in a table.

The Distribute functionality is contained in the Planning Panel.

  1. Select the cell All Product lines > ForecastRevAft20Q1 > Q4 (2020)

  1. Select the More Actions (…) menu, choose Distribute Values. This will bring up the Planning Panel on the right.

Note

The Planning Panel is used to set the distribution of values. This now gives us a value of
  1. First, close the Recommendations panel, then open the Distribution Key drop-down and select Input Weights.

Note

Now we will create our own distribution of values.
  1. In the table, select the cells for First Person Star and Strategy under the column Q3(2020).

  1. This will generate text boxes in the Where to? section of the Planning Panel for First Person Star and Strategy.

  1. Enter the values from the two cells into their relative text box in the Planning Panel:

    • First Person Star - 51,341
    • Strategy - 36,252

  1. Selecting the Preview results in Table button at the top of the Where to? section allows us to see the updated values within the table before we apply them.

  1. Select Apply to finish.

  1. The Q4 value of 82,131 is now distributed to the product categories within the Q3 column based on the Q3 trend. Your table should now look like this:

Learning
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