Auto-Generate Purchase Order by Forecast

The "By Forecast" feature enables the system to predict the required quantity for each SKU based on factors such as seasonality, business trends, and SKU popularity, and then generates a draft purchase order for your review.

Things to know:

• The ability to auto-generate purchase orders is governed by the "Manage Purchase Orders" access control setting.
• Visibility of the By Forecast option is controlled by a hidden setting that must be enabled by the MyTime team. To enable it, contact support@mytime.com.
• When selecting By Forecast, the system suggests a default start date (current date) and end date. You can adjust these dates, but the start date must be on or before the end date; otherwise, the Auto Generate button will be disabled.
• Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) logic:
• If the forecasted quantity is below the MOQ, the system rounds up to meet the MOQ.
• If it exceeds the MOQ, the system uses the forecasted value as-is.
• Forecast-based quantities are rounded up to the nearest multiple of the SKU’s MOQ without exceeding the max limit. Example: MOQ = 5, Min = 10, Max = 30, Current Stock = 12 → the system generates 15.
• When auto-generating by forecast, the system also includes products generated by Max. For example, if Max adds 10 SKUs and Forecast adds 2, all 12 SKUs will appear in the PO.
• An icon next to Quantity Ordered indicates how the value was added:
• Blue: Manually entered
• Orange: Auto-generated by Max
• Grey: Auto-generated by Forecast
• Hovering shows a tooltip with the source. If a generated quantity is edited, the icon updates to manual. Reverting restores the original icon.
• The forecast chart icon appears next to each product but will be inactive if the SKU has no forecast data or was not generated by forecast.
• Clicking the forecast chart icon opens a modal displaying:
• Training Data (blue): Historical usage
• Forecast Data (orange): Predicted demand
• The chart supports zooming, panning, day/week/month views, gap smoothing, and includes a product dropdown to compare SKUs.
• Another forecast icon shows consumption history for the past 30, 60, and 90 days, including periods of zero usage, helping staff review demand trends.
• For each item in the draft PO, the system displays the Quantity on Hand and Max value.
• By default, forecasted quantities are not capped. Enabling the Limit Purchase Order Forecasting by Max setting ensures forecasted amounts never exceed the SKU’s max.
• Additional hidden settings can be enabled to control forecast eligibility and performance:
• Inventory Forecast Eligibility Period (Days): Defines how far back to look (e.g., 90 days).
• Minimum Number of Forecastable Days: The SKU must show usage on at least this many days within the eligibility window. 
• Historical Data Requirement: At least 3 months of data is required; up to 1 year is used when available.
• Maximum SKUs Forecasted in One Request: A performance limit can restrict how many SKUs are forecasted at once. Actual SKUs included may be fewer if some have zero forecasted demand.
  
• Products with a maximum forecast value of zero are excluded from the forecast limit calculation during purchase order forecasting. This ensures that products without forecasted demand do not reduce the number of other products that can be included in the forecast.

Contents

• Auto-Generate Purchase Order by Forecast
• Auto-Generate Purchase Order by Forecasted Replenishments

Auto-Generate Purchase Order by Forecast

1. Navigate to POS > Inventory
2. Select Purchase Orders from the left panel 
3. Click Create Purchase Order button in the upper right corner
4. Choose a supplier from the Vendor list then select "Next"
5. Add products to your purchase order using the "Auto Generate" button 
6. Select the option to auto-generate purchase order items based on forecast 
7. Select a start date and an end date 
8. Click on the "Auto Generate " button 
9. Next to each generated product is a chart and a forecast icon; clicking the forecast icon opens a modal displaying its historical consumption over the past 30, 60, and 90 days, even if there was no usage during those periods. For products created using forecast data, clicking the chart shows both past usage and predicted demand for more accurate planning.
10. The generated products will also be displayed with their quantity on hand, maximum quantity, cost, ordered quantity, and subtotal.
11. Once the products generated are acceptable, click the 'Submit Purchase Order' button at the top right-hand corner
12. The purchase order will be created and display the full information of the order 

Auto-Generate Purchase Order by Forecasted Replenishments

Inventory replenishment is the process of restocking items to maintain ideal inventory levels. By using forecasting, the system analyzes historical sales data to predict future demand, determining exactly when and how much you should reorder.

Things to know:

• This feature requires two hidden settings to be activated. Please contact support@MyTime.com to enable them
• The ability to auto-generate purchase orders by Forecasted Replenishments is governed by the "Manage Purchase Orders," "Accessing Account Settings," and "Manage Inventory Vendors" access control settings.
• To calculate order quantities accurately, you must configure these two settings:
• Vendor Lead Time: Set this within the Vendor Profile for each location. This represents the number of days it takes for a vendor to deliver products after an order is placed
• Category Forecast Period: Set this under Business Setup > Settings by select the Category Forecast Period hyperlink. This defines how many days of stock you want to have on hand. You can set this per product category and location
• Note: The system requires sufficient historical sales data to generate an accurate forecast. If the Forecast Period is set to zero, the system will not generate forecasts for that category
• The system runs a daily forecast for all locations. The results are visible in the Inventory Replenishments report.
• Forecasted Reorder Point: The predicted number of items needed to cover the "Lead Time" (the gap between ordering and delivery).
• Forecasted Consumption: The predicted number of items needed for your "Forecast Period" (how long you want the stock to last).
• Historical Data (30/60/90 days): These figures show past consumption only; they are provided for reference and do not affect the future forecast.
• Replenishment data updates only once per day. Please keep the following in mind:
• If you change a forecast period for a product category, the Inventory Replenishment report will not reflect those changes until the following day
• Once an order is created, those items are removed from the "Auto Generate by Forecast Replenishment" list. You cannot take further action on these items or view updated data until the system generates the new data in the Inventory Replenishment report the next day
• When you select generate by forecasted replenishment on a purchase order, the system uses the following formula to determine the order quantity: (forecasted reorder point + forecasted consumption) - (quantity on hand + quantity on order). 
• Products are only added to the PO if the calculated order amount is greater than zero.
• If a product has a "Minimum Order Quantity," it will be applied to the final result.
• This method does not use "Generate by MAX quantity."
• When a replenishment-based purchase order is submitted, the system assigns that PO # to the vendor and location in the  Inventory Replenishments  report—even for products that weren't included in that specific order. Once a PO # is assigned, those records are 'locked' and will no longer be used to generate future purchase orders.

Contents

• Configure Vendor Lead Time
• Configure Category Forecast Periods
• Auto-Generate Purchase Order by Forecasted Replenishments

Configure Vendor Lead Time

1. Navigate to POS > Inventory and select Vendor Profiles
   
2. Select a vendor and click Edit Vendor Profile
   
3. Check the box for each applicable location
   
4. In the Lead Time column, enter the number of days (up to 999) it takes to receive orders
5. Click Save

Configure Category Forecast Periods

Once the hidden settings are enabled:

1. Navigate to Business Setup > Settings
   
2. In the POS section, click the Category Forecast Period hyperlink
   
3. Filter by Location
   
4. Enter the desired number of days of stock for each category
5. Click Save

Auto-Generate Purchase Order by Forecasted Replenishments

1. Navigate to POS > Inventory > Purchase Orders
2. Click Create Purchase Order in the upper-right corner
3. Choose a vendor and click Next
4. Click Auto Generate and select By Forecasted Replenishments
5. For each generated product:
   • A forecast icon shows historical consumption (30/60/90 days)
   • Clicking the chart displays past usage and predicted demand
   • Products display quantity on hand, max quantity, cost, ordered quantity, and subtotal
6. Once satisfied, click Submit Purchase Order

If you have any questions, please contact our Support Team at support@mytime.com. 

Related Articles:

• Creating Purchase Orders
• Auto Generate Purchase Order by Max Quantity
• Exporting Purchase Order
• Email / Print / Export Purchase Orders to Vendor
• Importing Purchase Orders via CSV File (Ingest Data)
• Receiving / Checking In Purchase Orders