Tour Forecasting (MerchIQ)

Tour Forecasting is a feature of MerchIQ. It's a powerful tool that allows you to manage your inventory to maximize sales driven by your nightly Settlements, Gross Revenue, and $/Head.

Project Gross Revenue, Expenses, and Net Profit on tour merch. Predict nightly show Settlements and know exactly how much merch to order. Real-time algorithmic forecasts tell you what you will run out of and when. 

Once you've completed your Tour Plan and you begin settling shows, Forecasting will kick in. This article will provide an overview of each area of MerchIQ Tour Forecasting.

MerchIQ Forecasting supports multiple show currencies. Please see the MerchIQ Forecasting and Multiple Show Currencies section. 

Access MerchIQ Tour Forecasting:

• Click Tours > MerchIQ
• Click Tour Forecast

Performance

• Make sure the correct tour is selected in the dropdown
• The page will default to Performance
• Click on the Arrows button on the right to load the page in full screen view

The Performance page provides a visual way to see how your Tour Plan and Forecast line up, as you settle shows, with a color coded graph. You can switch between Gross Revenue, $/Head, and Net Receipt views using the buttons on the lower right of the graph. 

Hover over any of the points on the graph to reveal the Tour Plan and Actual figures. 

Further down the page, you're provided with a quick breakdown of the Top 5 performing items and cities (by Gross and by $/Head). 

Summary

• Click on the Summary button

The Summary page provides a tour-to-date comparison of your Tour Plan vs. actual show data pulled from your nightly Settlements. 

Green or red arrows indicate whether you are positive or negative as compared to your Tour Plan. Hovering over an arrow will reveal the Tour Plan Gross, Expenses, or Net Profit amounts.

Venues

• Click on the Venues button
• Click on the Arrows button on the right to load the page in full screen view

All of the calculations on this page are driven by actual show data. Based on your nightly Settlements, atVenu will forecast attendance and $/head for upcoming shows. This determines Gross Revenue by show, which is used to project sales of each item/show.

A Forecasted Total Gross for the tour is also included in the upper left. 

Working with the Venues page:

• Click a blue date to edit the Venue details for any un-settled show
• You can edit the information in the individual cells for any un-settled shows
• Completed (Settled) shows can not be edited

Products

• Click on the Products button
• This page is best viewed full screen. Click on the Arrows button on the right to load full screen view

The Products page provides a real-time picture of your tour inventory, how it's performing, and how your on hand inventory compares to what you'll need for any upcoming shows, based on forecasted attendance and $/head. From here, you can see what you might be running low on, what you need to reorder, and when shortages will impact you.

Here's a quick overview of the information displayed on this page: 

• Forecasted Attendance and $/Head: These figures carry over from the Venues page and can be edited as needed. Any edits made here will sync back to the Venues page
• Total Needed: Total number of items needed to complete the tour, broken down by size
• On Hand: Total on hand inventory of the tour Trailer. Counted In or Added quantities are included in this total
• In Transit: Total in transit inventory which has been shipped, but not yet received
• Shows Left: How many more shows your (On Hand) only, or (On Hand + In Transit) quantities, depending on your preference. At the top of the page, you can change the Inventory Forecast settings as desired
• +/-: How many units of an item you are over or short to meet demand. This quantity accounts for On Hand and In Transit inventory
• Sales to Date: Total units sold to date
• Inventory Forecast/Status Bars: The inventory status bars display (On Hand) only, or (On Hand + In Transit) quantities, depending on your preference. At the top of the page, you can change the Inventory Forecast settings as desired
• Shows by Date: These columns show all upcoming shows and based on the forecasted attendance and $/head the number of units you'll need for each. Blue indicates you have enough stock to meet demand, while red indicates a shortage
• Warehouse: This column will show any item you have in your saved Warehouses. You can disable this by clicking the down arrow next to the Warehouse title and disabling the Warehouse from the pop-up menu
• Ordered: Lists any quantities you have on order
• Global +/-: This is a global over/short calculation which factors in any available quantities from the Warehouse and Ordered columns

Note: The MerchIQ > Tour Forecast > Products page can be exported in excel format by clicking the Excel button in the upper right. 

You also have the ability to change the Reorder status of any item on the Products page. Click on the Reorder: Priority status to open a dropdown selector. Set the item to No Reorder, and MerchIQ will no longer apply demand to this item moving forward. 

Expenses

• Click on the Expenses button
• Click on the Arrows button on the right to load the page in full screen view

Expenses carry over from your Tour Plan and can be edited as needed. Edit existing Expense entries or add new ones. 

MerchIQ Forecasting with Multiple Show Currencies

MerchIQ forecasting supports multiple show currencies within a single tour. 

• The MerchIQ Tour Forecast baseline is Tour Currency which can be set under Manage Tours
• When your tour consists of shows with different local currencies, MerchIQ will convert local, show currency to Tour Currency for accurate inventory projections

Each time a show is settled, MerchIQ will calculate the Forecast of future shows (that are not in Tour Currency) with the latest exchange rate. While your shows are always settled using the current, local exchange rate, MerchIQ will apply the most current exchange rate available to future show forecasting. This helps to ensure the exchange rate used to forecast inventory is as close as possible to the exchange rate you will eventually settle with for more accurate tour forecasting. 

Below are some important notes for navigating and working with a multiple currency tour in MerchIQ Tour Forecasting...

Performance: 

• All data represented on the Performance page is in Tour Currency
• The graph at the top of the Performance page will display the Gross Sales for settled shows in Tour Currency but will also include exchange rates

• Future shows will be displayed in Tour Currency
• Future shows are converted to Tour Currency using the exchange rate available at the time of the last settled show

Venues: 

• On the Venues page, the editable $/Head cells are in Tour Currency
• Shows not in Tour Currency will display an (i) tool tip which includes exchange rate

Products: 

• On the Products page, the editable $/Head cells are in Tour Currency

Please Note: It is important to keep in mind that prices saved to your items are based on a neutral currency and are essentially numeric values only. In order for Tour Forecasting to work properly, you must change prices for shows outside of your Tour Currency so MerchIQ can apply correct conversions. 

Also see: Tour Planning (MerchIQ)