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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 30, 2005

Forecast Pro Unlimited Version 4.4 Simplifies Large-Scale and Collaborative Forecasting
New Release Improves Forecasting Methodology, Reporting and Ease of Use

Belmont, MA—June 30, 2005—Business Forecast Systems, Inc. (BFS) announced today the availability of Forecast Pro Unlimited Version 4.4, a new release of the popular Forecast Pro Unlimited software package. Forecast Pro Unlimited is used internationally by businesses of all sizes to forecast product sales, revenues, demand for services and other important variables. Forecast Pro Unlimited can be used as a stand-alone solution or integrated with production planning, supply chain management, inventory control or other planning systems. The new release of Forecast Pro Unlimited sports an enhanced user interface, improves upon the product’s award-winning forecasting methodology, and allows greater flexibility in report design.

Forecast Pro Unlimited Version 4.4 is a state-of-the-art statistical forecasting package that uses artificial intelligence and powerful methodology to yield unsurpassed forecasting accuracy. In expert selection mode, Forecast Pro Unlimited uses a rule-based expert system and proprietary statistical algorithms to analyze data, select appropriate forecasting techniques and create forecasts, allowing users with little or no forecasting experience to use the program effectively. Forecast Pro Unlimited supports a collaborative forecasting environment where colleagues may work together to develop a final forecast. The product’s override facility allows for judgmental adjustments to be easily made and documented.

Forecast Pro Unlimited includes a wide variety of forecasting techniques to accommodate all types of business data. Methods include exponential smoothing, Box-Jenkins (ARIMA), Croston’s intermittent demand, low volume models, event models (for forecasting promotions or business interruptions) and multiple-level (hierarchical) models. The program also provides a portfolio of supporting features including graphical displays of forecasts, on-screen adjustments, multiple forecast overrides, model descriptions and statistics, and customized reports.
"All of the improvements in Forecast Pro Unlimited Version 4.4 were customer-driven" said Business Forecast Systems Vice President Eric Stellwagen. “We surveyed our users to find out what they want to see in the product and then incorporated the most frequently requested enhancements.”

Among the many improvements included in Forecast Pro Unlimited Version 4.4 are:

  • an enhanced forecast override facility. The forecast override view now supports a numeric view of the historical data and allows users to define overrides as a function of past data. The data navigator sports new color-coded icons enabling users to quickly spot all modified items.
  • a time-saving “manual override” mode. The new manual override mode allows users to make all forecasts adjustments and then reconcile the product hierarchy once, rather than reconciling the hierarchy after each change. This feature saves considerable time when working with large complex hierarchies
  • improved expert selection logic. The best keeps getting better. The logic behind Forecast Pro Unlimited’s “expert selection” mode—which can automatically choose the most appropriate forecasting model for some or all of the items being forecasted—has been improved.
  • more comprehensive input and output. Data input and output capabilities have been expanded, including the ability to include/omit group totals, output the fitted values and read formulas in Excel.

Forecast Pro Unlimited 4.4 runs on all Windows and NT platforms. Minimum requirements include 32 megabytes of RAM, and 15 megabytes of available hard drive space. The list price is $4,995. More information is available by visiting www.forecastpro.com or by calling Business Forecast Systems at (617) 484-5050.

About Business Forecast Systems
Founded in 1986, Business Forecast Systems, Inc. (BFS), is the maker of Forecast Pro, the leading software solution for business forecasting, and is a premier provider of forecasting education. With more than 25,000 users worldwide, Forecast Pro helps thousands of companies improve planning, cut inventory costs and decrease stockouts by improving the accuracy of their forecasts. More than 3,000 forecasting professionals have attended BFS forecasting education events, including the annual Forecasting Summit, which is recognized as the premier conference for business forecasting professionals. For more information about Forecast Pro, visit www.forecastpro.com

Contact Information:

Holly Stanton
Marketing Director
Business Forecast Systems, Inc.
Phone: (617) 484-5050
Fax: (617) 484-9219
email: hstanton@forecastpro.com