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Parlevel - VMS - OCS Managed Station Forecasting
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Parlevel - VMS - OCS Managed Station Forecasting
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Table of Contents

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to outline the Managed Station Forecasting feature for Office Coffee Service (OCS).
 

Process

This automates the order creation process for Managed Locations in the Stock App. When a driver or salesperson opens a future order for a station flagged as a "Managed Location," the app now automatically pre-loads a starting list of products and quantities. This eliminates the need to manually add every item for every visit.

  • Please Note: This applies only to managed OCS stations where forecasting has been enabled.
  • If forecasting is enabled for a station but the station does not have enough completed invoice history to meet the company setting, the system uses the station’s default order. (Company setting of 3 previous invoices, the station only has 2 invoices so far)

  1. Navigate to Company Settings > Route Planning.

    'Number of Historic Services for Forecast (OCS)' will show the number of invoices the service will average from. The default value is 3.
    Parlevel - Company Settings Forcast OCS.png

  2. Navigate to the OCS Station you want to enable forecasting for. Click the 'Enable OCS Forecasting' check box on the left side. Please note: This station must be a Managed Location.
    Parlevel - Station Enable OCS Forecasting.png
  3. The feature is now enabled for the Station.
     

Driver Side

All pre-loaded items remain fully editable and products automatically reflect the station's current price tier at the moment the order is opened.

  1. Open a future order for a Managed Location in the Stock App.
     
  2. Review the pre-loaded product list and quantities.
     
  3. Adjust quantities, add new items, or remove products as needed.
     
  4. Save or submit the order as usual. 
     

Forecast Previews

  • OCS / Create Order Screen
    Parlevel - OCS Forecasting Example 1.png
  • Route Planning Screen / Add a Station to a Route
    • Click 'View/Modify Order'
      Parlevel - OCS Forecasting Example 2.png
  • Smart Routing Screen (if Smart Routing is enabled)
    Parlevel - OCS Forecasting Example 3.png
    • Click 'View/Modify' to show more.
      Parlevel - OCS Forecasting Example 3 expanded.png

Product Eligibility

  • A product can appear in the forecast only if it is currently available in the station’s price tier when the forecast is generated.
     
  • Products that appeared in historical invoices but have since been removed from the station’s current price tier are excluded from the forecast.
    • Products that are in the station’s current price tier but have no historical invoice activity are also excluded from the forecast.
       
  • The forecast does not combine with the default order to fill in missing products. If a product has no qualifying forecast history, it does not appear in the forecast, and the driver can add it manually if needed.