If a component takes twelve weeks to arrive and your customers order four weeks out, confirmed demand will always be too late. Forecasts are how you close that gap without buying blind.
A forecast in Dream MRP is a named set of lines — item code, quantity and required date — with its own reference and an Include in MRP switch. Build one per quarter, per customer or per campaign, and keep several side by side. Switch one into the plan and its lines are treated as demand alongside real sales orders; switch it off and the plan reverts to confirmed demand only, with nothing lost either way.
Dates matter as much as quantities. Every forecast line carries a required date, past-dated lines are always excluded, and the Sales Forecast Horizon setting controls how far ahead forecasts count — thirty days for near-term buying, or zero for no limit at all.
Include in MRP is a single checkbox per forecast. Turning one off removes its influence from the next run without throwing away the work that went into it.
Forecast lines are dated, so demand lands on the date you expect it rather than everything being treated as needed now. The horizon setting caps how far into the future the calculation will look.
The Demand screen keeps forecast quantities in their own column, so you always know how much of a shortage is confirmed and how much is a bet you have chosen to take.
Minimum stock levels are compared against sales-order demand only. Forecasts can raise total demand above the floor, but they can never trigger the floor on their own.
Best for: Manufacturers with long-lead components, seasonal peaks or campaign-driven demand, who need to commit to purchasing before the orders are confirmed.
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