2. What other factors in the company’s external environment, in addition to the ones mentioned in the case, should its executives consider in preparing their demand forecasts?

How does a food company forecast demand for its meat snack and sausage products?
Oberto Sausage, an 85-year-old family business in Washington State, sells beef jerky and other packaged meat products, such as pork rinds and smoked sausage sticks, directly to mass merchandisers and supermarket chains. Oberto has been enjoying double-digit growth. The company has also been expanding its consumer marketing efforts into the digital realm; it recently concluded a successful sweepstakes promotion that invited participants to text in their entries from their cell phones.
Growing demand means accurate forecasting is critical to Oberto’s ability to provide a steady supply of fresh products to the right places at the right time. Forecasting also ensures Oberto has the necessary ingredients and packaging available to fill orders on time. In its recent search for a new computer-based forecasting system, the company looked for a way to create a model of routine and ongoing “base” demand, incorporate and keep track of changes it made to the model, forecast general demand and demand for specific market segments, input human judgment, and finally keep costs for the new system in line with the quality of forecasting the company desired.