Forecasting can be broadly considered as a method or a technique for
estimating many future aspects of a business or other operation. It is
one of the rapidly growing field of business world which is mainly based
on strong statistical theory and applications. Over the past few years,
there has been lot of research work carried out in predicting the future
and making better decisions. This process of research has been led to
several developments in forecasting methods. Many of these methodologies
have been developed based on sophisticated statistical techniques
available in the theory.In management and administrative fields, the
need for planning is vital because the lead time for decision making
ranges for several years to few days or hours to few seconds.
Forecasting is an important aid in effective and efficient planning.
Forecasting is a common statistical task where it evaluates decisions
about Scheduling of several activities like production, transportation,
assignments etc.,