New Product Forecasting

This book contains comprehensive analysis of the methods used in new product forecasting, which would provide higher accuracy in managerial practice. These methods include statistical, judgmental and combination methods. For ease of use in managerial practice the book maintains the simplicity in use of difficult concepts. A popular idea of using analogous product data for forecasting sales of a target product has been researched and evaluated. Three methods of new product forecasting were selected for this purpose and their suitability is compared with other existing methods and rigorous evaluation of academic research in this area is carried out and appropriate recommendation made. The selected methods balance sophistication with the easiness for the company managers to understand and use them. It contains the results of a practical research with real sales data in a high technology industry of the US market for the time period from 1946 up to present times. The book provides detailed analysis of the pros and cons of all the methods tested and may well serve as one of the essential resources for a forecasting manager.