How do you continuously improve transportation demand forecasting in your organization?

1 Assess your current forecasting methods

The first step to improve your transportation demand forecasting is to evaluate your current methods and tools. How accurate and reliable are your forecasts? What data sources and models do you use? How often do you update and validate your forecasts? How do you communicate and share your forecasts with relevant stakeholders? By assessing your current forecasting methods, you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of your approach, and the areas where you need to improve.

2 Incorporate new data and technology

The second step to improve your transportation demand forecasting is to incorporate new data and technology that can enhance your forecasting capabilities. For example, you can use big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to process large and diverse data sets, such as traffic patterns, weather conditions, customer behavior, and social media trends. These data and technology can help you generate more accurate, timely, and granular forecasts, as well as detect anomalies and outliers.

3 Implement feedback loops and learning mechanisms

The third step to improve your transportation demand forecasting is to implement feedback loops and learning mechanisms that can help you monitor and adjust your forecasts. For example, you can use key performance indicators (KPIs), dashboards, and reports to track and measure the accuracy and reliability of your forecasts, and compare them with actual outcomes. You can also use surveys, interviews, and workshops to collect feedback from internal and external stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, and regulators. These feedback loops and learning mechanisms can help you identify and correct errors, biases, and gaps in your forecasts, and improve your forecasting methods and models over time.

4 Foster a culture of collaboration and innovation

The fourth step to improve your transportation demand forecasting is to foster a culture of collaboration and innovation in your organization. Transportation demand forecasting is not a siloed activity. It involves multiple departments, functions, and levels in your organization, as well as external partners and customers. Therefore, you need to create a culture that encourages collaboration and innovation across your organization, and supports the sharing of data, insights, and best practices. You can also create a culture that promotes experimentation and learning from failures, and rewards continuous improvement and innovation.

5 Align your forecasts with your strategic goals and decisions

The fifth step to improve your transportation demand forecasting is to align your forecasts with your strategic goals and decisions. Transportation demand forecasting is not an end in itself. It is a means to support your strategic planning and decision making for your transportation operations and networks. Therefore, you need to ensure that your forecasts are aligned with your strategic goals and objectives, such as improving customer satisfaction, reducing costs, increasing efficiency, or enhancing sustainability. You also need to ensure that your forecasts are integrated with your decision support systems, such as optimization, simulation, and scenario analysis tools, that can help you evaluate and select the best alternatives for your transportation actions and investments.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?