Using smoothing constants of .6 and .9, develop forecasts for the sales of VW Beetles. What effect did the smoothing constant have on the forecast? Use MAD to determine which of the three smoothing constants (.3, .6, or .9) gives the most accurate forecast.
Problem - The following gives the number of pints of type B blood used at Woodlawn Hospital in the past 6 weeks:
|
WEEK OF
|
PINTS USED
|
|
August 31
|
360
|
|
September 7
|
389
|
|
September 14
|
410
|
|
September 21
|
381
|
|
September 28
|
368
|
|
October 5
|
374
|
a) Forecast the demand for the week of October 12 using a 3-week moving average.
b) Use a 3-week weighted moving average, with weights of .1, .3, and .6, using .6 for the most recent week. Forecast demand for the week of October 12.
c) Compute the forecast for the week of October 12 using exponential smoothing with a forecast for August 31 of 360 and a = .2.