Re: Estimated annual usage

I pulled this from the MAPICS IM Manual:

Alpha factor/averaging calculations

When you run the period-end closing stock status with file update (option 1,
menu AMIM60), three averages are recalculated:
. Average sales per period (AVSAL)
. Average period-end balance (AVMEB)
. Estimated average annual usage (EAANU).

The averaging technique (called exponential smoothing) places more emphasis
(weight) on recent actual values than on old actual values, according to an
alpha (averaging) factor that you are asked to enter during application
tailoring. The basic formula for calculating a new average using exponential
smoothing is:

NA = OA + (AF x (TPAV - OA))

where:
.AF Alpha factor
.NA New average
.OA Old average
.TPAV This period actual value

This formula is used for the first two averages which are on a period basis:

. Average Sales Per Period (AVSAL) and
. Average Period-End Balance (AVMEB).

If there is no old average, the new average is initialized with the "this period
actual value."

The third average, Estimated Average Annual Usage (EAANU), uses a modified
version of the formula because it is on an annual basis:

NA = OA + (AF x ((TPAV x PERIOD) - OA))

PERIOD Number of accounting periods (12 or 13)

If there is no old average, the new average is initialized to "this period
actual value" multiplied by the number of accounting periods (12 or 13).

Hope this helps somehow...
Peter Vidal
Pall Aeropower Corp.
SR Programmer Analyst
WWW.Pall.com / 727-539-8448, x2414

"A good player makes himself look good;
a great player makes the team look good."
Author unknown