=You realize that the forecasting methods that you have investigated do not provide a great degree of accuracy, and you decide to use a creative approach to forecasting that combines the statistical and judgmental approaches. You know that Mark had used data from one of the 35 decentralized records and benefits administration centers to perform his original forecasting. You therefore suspect that call volume data exists for this decentralized center. Because the decentralized centers performed the same functions as the new centralized center currently performs, you decide that the call volumes from the decentralized center will help you forecast the call volumes for the new centralized center. You simply need to understand how the decentralized volumes Vrelate to the new centralized volumes. Once you understand this relationship, you can use the call volumes from the decentralized center to forecast the call volumes for the centralized center.
You approach Mark and ask him whether call center data exist for the decentralized center. He tells you that data exist, but data do not exist in the format that you need. Case volume data—not call volume data—exist. You do not understand the distinction, so Mark continues his explanation. There are two types of demand data—case volume data and call volume data. Case volume data count the actions taken by the representatives at the call center.
Call volume data count the number of calls answered by the representatives at the call center. A case may require one call or multiple calls to resolve it. Thus, the number of cases is always less than or equal to the number of calls.
You know you only have case volume data for the decentralized center, and you certainly do not want to compare apples and oranges. You therefore ask if case volume data exist for the new centralized center. Mark gives you a wicked grin and nods his head. He sees where you are going with your forecasts, and he tells you that he will have the data for you within the hour.
Decentralized Case Volume Centralized Case Volume Week 44 612 2,052 Week 45 721 2,170 Week 46 693 2,779 Week 47 540 2,334 Week 48 1,386 2,514 Week 49 577 1,713 Week 50 405 1,927 Week 51 441 1,167 Week 52/1 655 1,549 Week 2 572 2,126 Week 3 475 2,337 Week 4 530 1,916 Week 5 595 2,098 You realize that the forecasting methods that you have investigated do not provide a great degree of accuracy, and you decide to use a creative approach to forecasting that combines the statistical and judgmental approaches. You know that Mark had used data from one of the 35 decentralized records and benefits administration centers to perform his original forecasting. You therefore suspect that call volume data exists for this decentralized center. Because the decentralized centers performed the same functions as the new centralized center currently performs, you decide that the call volumes from the decentralized center will help you forecast the call volumes for the new centralized center.
You simply need to understand how the decentralized volumes