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Forecasting aggregate demand: analytical comparison of top-down and bottom-up approaches in a multivariate exponential smoothing framework

Author

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  • Giacomo Sbrana

    (Rouen Business School)

  • Andrea Silvestrini

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

Forecasting aggregate demand is a crucial matter in all industrial sectors. In this paper, we provide the analytical prediction properties of top-down (TD) and bottom-up (BU) approaches when forecasting aggregate demand, using multivariate exponential smoothing as demand planning framework. We extend and generalize the results obtained by Widiarta, Viswanathan and Piplani (2009) by employing an unrestricted multivariate framework allowing for interdependency between the variables. Moreover, we establish the necessary and sufficient condition for the equality of mean squared errors (MSEs) of the two approaches. We show that the condition for the equality of MSEs also holds even when the moving average parameters of the individual components are not identical. In addition, we show that the relative forecasting accuracy of TD and BU depends on the parametric structure of the underlying framework. Simulation results confirm our theoretical findings. Indeed, the ranking of TD and BU forecasts is led by the parametric structure of the underlying data generation process, regardless of possible misspecification issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Giacomo Sbrana & Andrea Silvestrini, 2013. "Forecasting aggregate demand: analytical comparison of top-down and bottom-up approaches in a multivariate exponential smoothing framework," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 929, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
  • Handle: RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_929_13
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. Hakeem‐Ur Rehman & Guohua Wan & Raza Rafique, 2023. "A hybrid approach with step‐size aggregation to forecasting hierarchical time series," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(1), pages 176-192, January.
    5. Poloni, Federico & Sbrana, Giacomo, 2015. "A note on forecasting demand using the multivariate exponential smoothing framework," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 143-150.
    6. Chun-Cheng Lin & Rou-Xuan He & Wan-Yu Liu, 2018. "Considering Multiple Factors to Forecast CO 2 Emissions: A Hybrid Multivariable Grey Forecasting and Genetic Programming Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-25, December.
    7. Scarpel, Rodrigo Arnaldo, 2015. "An integrated mixture of local experts model for demand forecasting," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 35-42.
    8. Babai, Zied & Boylan, John E. & Kolassa, Stephan & Nikolopoulos, Konstantinos, 2016. "Supply chain forecasting: Theory, practice, their gap and the futureAuthor-Name: Syntetos, Aris A," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 252(1), pages 1-26.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    top-down and bottom-up forecasting; multivariate exponential smoothing.;

    JEL classification:

    • C32 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes; State Space Models
    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation

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