Predicting Business Dynamics

Challenge
Accurately forecast product demand and prevent supply overhang

Solutions

• Identify and quantify key drivers
• Calculate volatile market impact on sales units and revenue
• Estimate price elasticity of specific product or services
• Determine demand shifts due to technological change
• Quantify advertising expenditure effect on sales

Challenge
Determine which markets to enter

Solutions

• Target optimal markets and market segments
• Improve investment plans
• Set realistic performance targets
• Brief international teams on marketplace conditions
• Assess political and security risks

Challenges
Estimate global market size, prevent market share loss and determine investments based on greatest potential return

Solutions

• Size and target markets by multiple segments
• Build a custom market model based on proprietary data
• Create forecasts to allocate sales and marketing resources
• Set performance benchmarks
• Estimate production, inventory and staffing needs
• Support capital investment decisions
• Quantify market risks and opportunities

Challenges
Find cheapest power supply; make informed pipeline expansion decisions

Solutions

• Rank different power options across countries
• Estimate refined product demand in target markets
• Evaluate alternative, competing supply sources

Challenges
Monitor sales, determine regional economic growth and sales relationship, and quantify sales impact of key drivers

• Assess performance by market size, segment, territory and growth
• Identify under- and over-served segments and sales territories
• Shift sales and marketing resources to increase sales
• Set realistic sales targets

Challenge
A leading storage vendor required an accurate forecast model to efficiently allocate sales and marketing resources.

Solution
IHS Markit developed a comprehensive forecast that integrated demand drivers and validation metrics across multiple products, industry sectors and countries. We also created a "corporate dashboard," which presented client-specified charts, tables and graphs for key indicators.

Results
The model's consistent forecasting process allowed our client to better identify, analyze and prioritize existing and emerging market opportunities. The client improved sales and marketing resource allocation and gained deeper insight into multiple product lifecycles across industries and geographies.

Challenge
A refining and marketing company needed to quantify the decision to enter the East European market.

Solution
We performed a study of the East European refining and marketing business, covering supply and demand balances, as well as regional projections for prices, margins, market dynamics and industry structure.

Results
The analysis elucidated the highest potential East European markets, noting opportunities and risks by region.

Challenge
A rotary screw air compressor firm needed an unbiased market assessment to set realistic territory sales goals.

Solution
We developed an estimate by building structure and type, compiling construction investment data by building segment and usage factor. We then forecasted sales for each product category, benchmarking the estimate against national industry sales. We extended our analysis to the county level.

Results
The client gained a customized forecast of market potential by county, allowing the firm to reassign sales resources and set performance expectations based on market demand.

Challenge
A global aluminum company needed to find low-cost electricity to support a new aluminum smelting operation.

Solution
A joint IHS-client team screened over 100 countries, using criteria such as potential delivered power prices for different technologies and fuels, the local business landscape, and possible synergies with the client's other global operations.

Results
With the prioritization list, the team garnered senior management support to pursue the three top-ranked options.

Challenge
An appliance manufacturer needed to quantify the factors driving white goods sales across markets in order to generate reliable forecasts --segmented by product categories--for annual planning purposes.

Solution
After holding a "business drivers" workshop with the client, we built a customized forecast model that quantified the relationships between white goods sales and key drivers (consumer spending, housing construction, turnover and renovation).

Results
The client now has a tool to generate sales forecasts with a high degree of confidence.