What does a forecasting analyst do?
A forecasting analyst is responsible for predicting a business's future production and financial condition by analyzing the company's current data statistics. Forecasting analysts evaluate the company's sales performance, inventory levels, production speed, and turnaround time of deliverables. They also study the latest industry trends, identifying business opportunities from consumer demands and interests to develop revenue resources to maintain the business' financial stability. A forecasting analyst must have excellent communication and analytical skills, especially on creating report models and finance measurement accuracy.
Forecasting analyst responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real forecasting analyst resumes:
- Manage National/Global RFP project process by creating pricing models and coordinating pricing efforts of different ManpowerGroup brands.
- Enter sales and freight information in company ERP software program.
- Work with logistics to track shipments to distribution center and ensure customer delivery dates are met.
- Develop and execute the POS and inventory forecasts and analysis for mass merchants and national /international sales accounts.
- Create promotional, POS, & inventory reports for both domestic and international accounts and submit to company each week.
- Utilize Nielsen data to create category reviews, new product presentations, and attend customer meetings to support customer category managers.
- Provide insight on sales demand and opportunities by syncing shipping reports using Cognos.
- Test and implement new data warehouse by creating new field sales reports from Cognos data warehouse.
- Maintain monthly rankings and analysis for non E3 items to create appropriate warehouse distribution to stores.
- Analyze and verify forecast anomalies from Manugistics to make recommendations to production.
Forecasting analyst skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Forecasting Analysts are proficient in Supply Chain, SQL, and Data Analysis. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Analytical skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Forecasting Analysts that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Supply Chain, 9%
Recommended forecast updates to sourcing and supply chain managers to reflect new data for manually controlled inventory areas.
- SQL, 9%
Program & routinely perform maintenance on the automation process which includes SQL database/tables, Visual Basic scripts and system stored procedures.
- Data Analysis, 7%
Constructed data analysis methods to support multiple metrics and business models.
- Strong Analytical, 6%
Position required strong analytical skills and problem solving ability.
- SAS, 5%
Conducted statistical analysis in SAS to investigate price elasticity of demand for food items.
- Demand Planning, 5%
Created automated SQL-based programs to report actual and forecast data; developed demand planning process for projecting domestic product shipments
Common skills that a forecasting analyst uses to do their job include "supply chain," "sql," and "data analysis." You can find details on the most important forecasting analyst responsibilities below.
Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for a forecasting analyst to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what forecasting analysts do because "market research analysts must pay attention to minutiae to evaluate data." Additionally, a forecasting analyst resume shows how forecasting analysts use detail oriented: "provide detailed reports to sales comparing history/bp/previous bp/edi, customer orders (when possible). "
Analytical skills. Many forecasting analyst duties rely on analytical skills. "market research analysts must evaluate large amounts of data and information related to market conditions.," so a forecasting analyst will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways forecasting analyst responsibilities rely on analytical skills: "produced concise data visualization using tableau and google spreadsheets which were viewed by the rest of the business. "
Communication skills. This is an important skill for forecasting analysts to perform their duties. For an example of how forecasting analyst responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "market research analysts must be able to clearly convey information when gathering material, interpreting data, and presenting results to clients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a forecasting analyst: "created demand side forecasts for sales and production planning purposes to ensure communication of customer requirements to supply chain. ".
The three companies that hire the most forecasting analysts are:
- General Motors52 forecasting analysts jobs
- Florida Power and Light 9 forecasting analysts jobs
- Procore Technologies9 forecasting analysts jobs
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Compare different forecasting analysts
Forecasting analyst vs. Buyer
A buyer's duties include product sourcing and comparing resources for the best product range that would suit the specific needs of the business. Buyers must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to evaluate items that most likely benefit the customer and improve the sales of daily operations with cost-efficient products. They also conduct extensive research for market and price trends while considering the highest quality standards. Buyers should also possess strong analytical skills to create purchase orders and statistical analysis.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, forecasting analyst responsibilities require skills like "supply chain," "sql," "data analysis," and "strong analytical." Meanwhile a typical buyer has skills in areas such as "purchase orders," "customer service," "supplier performance," and "commodities." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Buyers really shine in the automotive industry with an average salary of $59,735. Comparatively, forecasting analysts tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $70,597.buyers tend to reach lower levels of education than forecasting analysts. In fact, buyers are 9.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Forecasting analyst vs. Analyst sales
Analyst sales, or a sales analyst, is an individual who is responsible for increasing sales and revenue of a company by running competitive analysis and making recommendations on how the marketing and sales team should move forward. Sales analysts must assist in the review of monthly financial statements and prepare complex financial statements for retail and service businesses. They develop and provide market intelligence data solutions for the sales team to maximize territory sales efforts. Sales analysts must also maintain a business relationship with key account top management to deliver outstanding customer service and assistance.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that forecasting analyst responsibilities requires skills like "supply chain," "sas," "demand planning," and "regression." But an analyst sales might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "salesforce," "customer service," "crm," and "pivot tables."
Analyst sales earn a lower average salary than forecasting analysts. But analyst sales earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $80,458. Additionally, forecasting analysts earn the highest salaries in the manufacturing with average pay of $70,597 annually.In general, analyst sales achieve similar levels of education than forecasting analysts. They're 4.7% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Forecasting analyst vs. Procurement agent
A procurement agent develops profitable measures to save the client money and ensure the quality of goods supplied. Procurement agents obtain the purchased items through suppliers, monitor them, and expedite the orders. They oversee the activities and performance of the suppliers for compliance. Their duties include the verification of item receipts, resolving shipment-related problems, and authorizing purchase payments through documentation. The necessary skills for this job include being accomplished, decisive, and strong communication skills.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from forecasting analyst resumes include skills like "sql," "data analysis," "sas," and "demand planning," whereas a procurement agent is more likely to list skills in "strategic sourcing," "supplier performance," "customer service," and "inventory control. "
Procurement agents earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $76,921. Comparatively, forecasting analysts have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $70,597.procurement agents typically earn similar educational levels compared to forecasting analysts. Specifically, they're 3.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Forecasting analyst vs. Marketing internship
Marketing interns are usually marketing students or fresh graduates who are interested in getting actual work experiences before taking on a full-time job. They usually have an interest or academic background related to marketing. They assist marketing teams in most of their daily activities, sit in their meetings, record minutes of these meetings, take note of action plans, and attend other events related to marketing. They also assist in preparing collateral and other marketing materials, join brainstorming sessions, or any other activity that will help enrich their experience.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between forecasting analysts and marketing interns, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a forecasting analyst might have more use for skills like "supply chain," "sql," "strong analytical," and "sas." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of marketing interns require skills like "digital marketing," "powerpoint," "facebook," and "marketing campaigns. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for marketing interns, with average annual pay of $33,333. Comparatively, the highest forecasting analyst annual salary comes from the manufacturing industry.marketing interns reach lower levels of education compared to forecasting analysts, in general. The difference is that they're 9.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of forecasting analyst
Updated January 8, 2025
