Articles on-line

• Yakima firm's software helps manufacturers reduce inventory, increase customer service, Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business (Kennewick, Washington), April 2011.
• Software Business Adds Up, Yakima Herald Republic.  Story of Yakima Valley risk taker and entrepreneur, John Estep founder of E\Step software. April 2011.
• New Tool for Inventory Management: Component Safety Stock Reduction, IOMA's Management Library.  You can find more of this type of Logistics and Supply Chain management information in the "Manufacturing and Productivity e-Library" section of IOMA's Management Library, located at http://www.managementlibrary.com Learn in-the-trenches management techniques at Managementlibrary.com.
• The Right Service at the Right Price: Your Competitive Edge, Inc Magazine Growing Your Manufacturing Company Conference, Phoenix, AZ, May 1998.
• SPC & Selectable Calendars Work Magic for GE Aircraft Engines' Service Parts, APICS 38th International Conference Proceedings, October 1995.
• What to Look For in a Demand Forecasting System , Manufacturing Systems, June 1996.

Forecast Measurement Articles

• A Process Control Approach to Forecast Measurement is an excellent article explaining why a simple percentage is not the way to measure forecast error - by Dr. George A. Johnson, CFPIM.
• How Much Better are Your Forecasts? A technique to measure performance an article written by the FGS education director, Bob Duncan, CFPIM.

Request printed articles from the information request form

• New Inventory Imperative Seeks Focused Strategies, Managing Automation, October 1997.
• CKE Restaurants Integrates Inventory Management and Forecasting to Keep Units Happy, Nation's Restaurant News, August 11, 1997.
• Forecasting Software Ensures Fast Food Customers' Satisfaction, IIE Solutions, July 1997.

Newsletter Articles referenced on EstepSoftware.com

• Joint Orders - Combine replenishments to fill a container or take a price break
• Planned Before Firm - Lower costs and reduce lead times by launching supplemental orders with domestic suppliers
• Safety Time - Safety stock for highly seasonal demand
• Component Safety Stock - Reduce cumulative lead time by holding safety stock at a lower level in the bill of material
• Why it's mad to use MAD - There is a better forecast error measure than MAD and R²
• Selecting a Smoothing Rate - The difference between fast and regular exponential smoothing alpha factor
• Adjusting for the recession - Using fast smoothing alpha factors and trend discounts for changes in the economy