Business information system for forecasting raw material stocks for the production of flexible packaging

Abstract

A specialized information system of the enterprise has been developed for forecasting and raw materials ordering, which allows for the optimization of warehouse stocks of raw materials and reduces the risks of under-fulfillment of orders for finished products. It is important to control warehouse stocks and orders for basic raw materials of pure film. The essence of control comes down to constant monitoring of raw material balances in warehouses, and forecasting orders for base films in advance, since the execution of raw material deliveries is also stretched from two weeks to several months. The developed program automatically takes into account the available balance of raw materials in warehouses, the ordered quantity, and the required quantity according to forecasts, which improves the raw materials turnover ratio in warehouses. As customer expectations and behavior change dynamically, having such demand forecasting software empowers companies and helps them respond quickly to changes. An analytical decision-making mechanism based on a weighting function that provides the degree of raw material relevance for an order has been proposed. Recommendations have been given for choosing weighting function coefficients. The research results have been implemented in a business process at an enterprise engaged in the production of flexible packaging. The advantage of this system is the userfriendly interface, in particular the advisory component regarding the need and number of orders.