Class Assignment Overview and Sales Forecasting Steps

The electronic version of the assignment is due by 11:59 AM on Monday.
Students have one attempt to submit their work electronically to prevent confusion and mistakes during submission.
The due dates for submissions are not aligned with a usual Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. Instead, the submission follows a Monday and Thursday schedule.

Students are encouraged to take their time, ideally completing the assignment by Monday morning.
A hard copy of the assignment was provided to allow for practice before the electronic submission.
Complete the assignment without rushing to avoid mistakes; if a mistake is made, the submission cannot be reopened for changes.

The sales forecasting assignment is an individual task.
A Sales Forecasting Spreadsheet has been created by another professor, Brian, to assist students. Acknowledgment of the source is important.
The assignment relies heavily on information from a Fast Track report that should be downloaded from the team captain’s section in the Lexi system.

Log into your team section and select your respective industry to download the Fast Track report:
- Click on your industry.
- Go to the Reports section.
If there are any issues downloading the Fast Track report, students should reach out for support.

It is crucial to complete the electronic version correctly by following the guidelines on the hard copy provided.
When filling out the spreadsheet, enter only the last two digits of the industry number (e.g., if the industry number is 160878, then only use 78).
Include your name and class period within the spreadsheet.
Ensure to input all required numbers correctly to avoid erroneous calculations.
Input the unit segment demand correctly using data derived from the Fast Track report.

Use the Customer Survey Report for low-tech and high-tech products to complete the forecasting.
Identify last year's unit segment demand from the Fast Track report, which will be multiplied by growth factors:
- For low-tech items, growth factor is typically 10% (represented as 1.1).
- For high-tech items, the growth factor is typically 20% (represented as 1.2).
This information will help students forecast projected sales based on last year’s performance and market conditions.

Students should estimate projected demand based on:
- Low-tech and high-tech industry demand data.
- Customer survey feedback, which reflects consumer sentiment towards products.
Utilize formulas embedded within the spreadsheet to calculate projected figures accurately. Do not change or erase the formulas as they are critical for correct calculations.

Assess the market share data to aid in understanding potential sales.
Required inputs for final calculations include previous year's sales figures and other statistical metrics related to performance.
Students should use sound judgment for their sales projection. Highlight any assumptions made (e.g., estimated growth rates) based on personal insights about market conditions in the coming year.
- Make clear delineation between best-case scenarios and conservative estimates.

Avoid pressure and stress; this task is designed to be manageable and should not be overly complicated.
Students are reminded to learn and understand the underlying concepts, including key accounting principles such as ROX, ROA, and return on investment metrics, which are additional learning targets in this course.
Continue collaborating with group members for overall understanding and support in mastering the content of the course.

Students are encouraged to ask questions for clarification if concepts or instructions are confusing.
No debrief will occur immediately as the next round of projects has not yet been completed.