Manually running AI Demand Forecasting

Updated by Leigh Hutchens

To activate the Quinyx Advanced AI Demand Forecasting algorithm, please contact your Quinyx representative.

Introduction

Quinyx AI Demand Forecasting is a separate AI module that looks at historical data and provides a forecast for a future period. In most cases, the forecast is generated automatically for a given period (e.g. for 1 week 4 weeks in advance) at a specific time granularity (e.g. weekly). However, in some cases, whenever the input considered by the algorithm changes, the forecast needs to be recreated to ensure that such changes are incorporated into the forecast results. You can manually run Demand Forecasting in Quinyx directly or in Quinyx AI Optimization interface. 

You need to have purchased the AI Demand Forecasting module to have access to both the automatic forecast creation and to run the forecast creation manually. 

The AI Demand Forecasting is not the same as Last Year's Same Day, which you can read about here.

Running AI Demand Forecasting from Quinyx

Running AI Demand Forecasting from Quinyx is only possible on Quinyx production environment, not on RC environment

By default, the option to run Demand Forecasting in Quinyx will be turned off. You need to have purchased the AI Demand Forecasting module to have access to it in Quinyx, and the Quinyx team needs to configure and activate the module.

Setup Manual Running of AI Demand Forecasting

Following the enablement of the AI Demand forecasting module by Quinyx, you can decide who can access the option to run the demand forecasting manually from Quinyx by enabling the permission for Forecast and Forecast Overview found under Account Settings > Role Management > Edit Role. Only users with write access to Forecast are able to run the AI Demand Forecast from Quinyx. Users also need to have either read or write access to Forecast Overview. 

  1. Go to Account settings.
  2. Select Role management.
  3. For the selected role, click Edit role. This will open permissions, where you’ll be able to see Forecast & Forecast Overview.
  4. Select the relevant module.

Running the AI Demand Forecasting

Once you've set up your permissions, users with the right permissions will be able to visit the Forecast Overview tab where they will see an option called Create Forecast. Selecting this option will open up a panel where you can specify a timeframe and relevant districts/units/sections.

Take the following steps to run the forecast:

  1. Select the relevant from and to date. By default, the same time period as selected in the forecast view will be selected.
We recommend not selecting any timeframe longer than 3 months since we cannot guarantee that the algorithm will be able to finish on such large timeframes. 

  1. Select the relevant groups. Forecasts will be created for all variables with an AI Demand Forecasting configuration set up in all the districts/units/sections selected. You will get an indication of the number of districts, units, and sections you have selected.
The districts, units, and sections available to select from depending on the user’s access rights. A user can only select the districts/units/sections if they have access to it, and the algorithm will only run for those specific districts/units/sections.
  1. Select Create.

After selecting Create, the algorithm will start for the relevant variables in the selected groups, and you can view the updated forecast in the system.

Relevant Considerations
  • Currently, there is no status reporting on the commencement or completion of the algorithm run, but the algorithm is running in the background. Status reporting is coming soon!
  • The forecast will directly be visible in the graphs.
  • Even in cases where you leave the application, the Demand Forecasting algorithm will still continue running.
  • The algorithm run can take a couple of minutes (depending on the timeframe selected), so please be patient.

Running AI Demand Forecasting from Quinyx AI Optimization (Pythia)

By default, a user doesn't have access to the Quinyx AI Optimization page. You need to have purchased the AI Demand Forecasting module (or any other AI module) to have access to it, and the Quinyx team needs to configure and activate that module for you. Quinyx also needs to activate the access for users needing access to Quinyx AI Optimization. 

Setup Manual Running of AI Demand Forecasting

No setup is needed since everyone with access to the Quinyx AI Optimization page will be able to manually run the Demand Forecasting algorithm. 

Running the AI Demand Forecasting

All users with access to Quinyx AI Optimization will be able to in the initial dashboard be able to select Demand Forecasting. Selecting this option will bring you to Analysis where you can view the future forecast and historical data for a specific time period, as well as for a specific district/unit/section/data variable. 

Take the following steps to run the forecast:

  1. Select the plus sign on the analysis page, which will open up the relevant panel to create a forecast.
  2. Select the relevant from and to date. 
We recommend not selecting any timeframe longer than 3 months since we can't guarantee that the algorithm will be able to finish.

  1. Add Forecast name. This name is not mandatory, and the field does not have any naming constraints.
  2. Select the relevant Demand driver you want to run the algorithm for. If you're viewing the historical and forecast data for the whole unit, then the algorithm will be run for demand drivers within that unit automatically. If you select a demand driver separately, then the selected demand driver will, by default, be selected. However, you can select another demand driver within that unit in the drop-down, and the forecast will only be created for the demand driver selected.
In AI Optimization interface Demand Driver is what is considered a Data Variable. Additionally, every user who has access to AI Optimization has access to every unit and data variable. There is no differentiation considered by permissions.
  1. Select whether you want to include events in the forecast or not. Turning it on ensures that forecasts are created accounting for any events within the period selected. Turning it off will create a forecast returning forecast values that would be expected if that event didn’t exist. By default accounting for events is turned on.
  2. Select whether the forecast should account for opening hours. Turning it on will ensure that forecasts are created within the latest opening hours defined in the AI Optimization user interface. Turning it off will ignore the opening hours, and forecasts will be created depending on historical data alone.
  3. Select Save to kick off the forecast creation process. The forecasts will be created in the background, and the new forecast will update automatically in the graph and in the relevant data variables in Quinyx.
Relevant Considerations 
  • The forecast will directly be visible in the graphs and in Quinyx a few seconds after the forecast is completed.
  • Even in cases where you leave the application, the Demand Forecasting algorithm will still continue running.
  • The algorithm run can take a couple of minutes (depending on the timeframe selected), please be patient.

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