- About Including Advance Ordering Census in Forecasting
- Including Advance Ordering Census in Forecasting
- What Happens on the Forecasting Calendar?
About Including Advance Ordering Census in Forecasting
By default, percentages forecasting uses in its calculations the number of people assigned the table select service (i.e., table select census) in your MealSuite account to generate the serving amounts to be produced.
You also have the option to include the number of people assigned the advance ordering service (i.e., advance ordering census) in the percentages forecasting calculations. This is useful for purchase orders or quantified grocery lists created from productions amounts multiple days in advance, in which case you do not know what the advanced orders will be.
Including Advance Ordering Census in Forecasting
To include the advance ordering census in the percentages forecasting calculations, complete the following steps:
- Select Production > Forecasting. The Forecasting screen appears.
- Click the Forecasting Settings button at the top right. The Production & Forecasting Settings screen appears with the General Settings section open.
Note: Another means to access forecast settings is Tools & Setup > Manage Facility > Forecasting Settings tab.
- Click the Advance Ordering & Table Select button.
- Click the Save All Settings button to apply your changes.
What Happens on the Forecasting Calendar?
When the advance ordering census is included in forecasting calculations, then the forecasting calendar displays AO (advance ordering) for each meal period/day combination grid. Clicking into a grid opens the forecasting worksheet for that meal period/day combination.
Note: The forecasting calendar does not differentiate the forecast methods applied to menus in the system. Therefore, AO will appear on the forecasting calendar if the total needed forecast method is applied in the system, even though a total needed forecast method is not applicable for advance ordering (see Total Needed Forecasting (for Cafeteria Environments) for more information).