Mean-Based Error Measures for Intermittent Demand Forecasting

Bibliographic Details
Title: Mean-Based Error Measures for Intermittent Demand Forecasting
Authors: Prestwich, S. D., Rossi, R., Tarim, S. A., Hnich, B.
Source: International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis, Vol. 52(22):6782-6791, 2014
Publication Year: 2013
Collection: Statistics
Subject Terms: Statistics - Methodology
More Details: To compare different forecasting methods on demand series we require an error measure. Many error measures have been proposed, but when demand is intermittent some become inapplicable, some give counter-intuitive results, and there is no agreement on which is best. We argue that almost all known measures rank forecasters incorrectly on intermittent demand series. We propose several new error measures with wider applicability, and correct forecaster ranking on several intermittent demand patterns. We call these "mean-based" error measures because they evaluate forecasts against the (possibly time-dependent) mean of the underlying stochastic process instead of point demands.
Document Type: Working Paper
DOI: 10.1080/00207543.2014.917771
Access URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/1310.5663
Accession Number: edsarx.1310.5663
Database: arXiv
More Details
DOI:10.1080/00207543.2014.917771