Description

Bubba runs a steel manufacturing plant in Alabama and wants to needs to know how much steel to produce next week, next month, and next year to meet his customer’s demand. 

 

Why is this important to Bubba?

Accurately predicting customer demand is a key determinant of how profitable Bubba's business is each year.  Knowing how many units to produce influences almost every decision he makes:

•# of people to employ

•Quantity of raw materials to procure

•Even whether he can vacation in Tahiti next year

 

Overproducing means a surplus of goods sitting in the warehouse.  Underproducing implies a shortage of goods and upset customers that will find another supplier.  

 

Your Challenge

Until now, Bubba has used rules of thumb and gut instinct to forecast the demand for his product.  He now has enough data to apply a more sophisticated approach using data science and Watson technologies to estimate demand.