Modeling of forecasting and production planning data

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

defining a forecast class that represents forecasts of different types, wherein

the forecast class identifies a set of relationships of a forecast with a plurality of entities related to the forecast,

the different forecast types comprise a demand forecast type and a supply forecast type, and

the forecast class includes a designated data element to store data indicating whether data elements of the forecast class store data of a demand forecast; and

representing the forecasts provided by the forecast class in a common format.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining that the forecast data pertains to a forecast of a supply type; and

setting the designated data element of the forecast class to indicate that data elements of the forecast class store data of a supply forecast.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of entities related to the forecast includes entities selected from the group consisting of a related business unit, a forecast planner, a related account, a related product, a related sales representative, a related demand source, and related fact data.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the related demand source is any one of a related demand source and a related opportunity.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the related fact data includes data items selected from the group consisting of a forecast best case amount, a forecast worst case amount, a forecast cost amount, a forecast product price amount, and a forecast revenue amount.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the forecast class includes a custom data element for defining one or more custom data fields for the forecast class.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the one or more custom data fields of the forecast class are specific to an application.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

instantiating the forecast class; and

initializing data elements of the instantiated forecast class.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

transforming data received from a source application into a common format of the forecast class;

transforming the data from the common format into a target format of a target application; and

sending the data in the target format to the target application.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein a definition of the forecast class is represented as an XML schema.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transforming the forecast into a first transformed forecast in the common format provided by the forecast class; and

transforming the first transformed forecast into a second transformed forecast in a format recognizable by a target system.

12. A computer-implemented method for data transformation, the method comprising:

receiving forecast data from a source application; and

transforming the forecast data into a common format provided by a forecast class, wherein

the forecast class represents forecasts of different types,

the forecast class identifies a set of relationships of a forecast with a plurality of entities related to the forecast,

the forecast class includes a designated data element to store data indicating whether data elements of the forecast class store data of a demand forecast, and

the different forecast types comprise a demand forecast type and a supply forecast type.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

determining that the forecast data received from the source application pertains to a forecast of a supply type; and

setting the designated data element of the forecast class to indicate that data elements of the forecast class store data of a supply forecast.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the plurality of entities related to the forecast includes entities selected from the group consisting of a related business unit, a forecast planner, a related account, a related product, a related sales representative, a related demand source, and related fact data.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the related demand source is any one of a related demand source and a related opportunity.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the related fact data includes data items selected from the group consisting of a forecast best case amount, a forecast worst case amount, a forecast cost amount, a forecast product price amount, and a forecast revenue amount.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the forecast class includes a custom data element for defining one or more custom data fields for the forecast class.

18. The method of claim 12 wherein a first transformed data comprises the forecast data transformed into the common format, the method further comprising:

transforming the first transformed data into a second transformed data in a format recognizable by a target system.

19. A computer-readable medium having executable instructions to cause a computer to perform a method comprising:

defining a forecast class that represents forecasts of different types, wherein

the forecast class identifies a set of relationships of a forecast with a plurality of entities related to the forecast,

the different forecast types comprise a demand forecast type and a supply forecast type, and

the forecast class includes a designated data element to store data indicating whether data elements of the forecast class store data of a demand forecast; and

representing the forecasts provided by the forecast class in a common format.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein the method further comprises:

determining that the forecast data pertains to a forecast of a supply type; and

setting the designated data element of the forecast class to indicate that data elements of the forecast class store data of a supply forecast.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein the plurality of entities related to the forecast includes entities selected from the group consisting of a related business unit, a forecast planner, a related account, a related product, a related sales representative, a related demand source, and related fact data.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein the forecast class includes a custom data element for defining one or more custom data fields for the forecast class.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein a definition of the forecast class is represented as an XML schema.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein the method further comprises:

transforming the forecast into a first transformed forecast in the common format provided by the forecast class; and

transforming the first transformed forecast into a second transformed forecast in a format recognizable by a target system.

25. A computer readable medium having executable instructions to cause a computer to perform a method comprising:

receiving forecast data from a source application; and

transforming the forecast data into a common format provided by a forecast class, wherein

the forecast class represents forecasts of different types,

the forecast class identifies a set of relationships of a forecast with a plurality of entities related to the forecast,

the forecast class includes a designated data element to store data indicating whether data elements of the forecast class store data of a demand forecast, and

the different forecast types comprise a demand forecast type and a supply forecast type.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 25 wherein the plurality of entities related to the forecast includes entities selected from the group consisting of a related business unit, a forecast planner, a related account, a related product, a related sales representative, a related demand source, and related fact data.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 25 wherein the forecast class includes a custom data element for defining one or more custom data fields for the forecast class.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 25 wherein a first transformed data comprises the forecast data transformed into the common format, and the method further comprises:

transforming the first transformed data into a second transformed data in a format recognizable by a target system.

29. A system comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory, the processor executing a set of instructions which cause the processor to define a forecast class that represents forecasts of different types, wherein

the forecast class identifies a set of relationships of a forecast with a plurality of entities related to the forecast,

the different forecast types comprise a demand forecast type and a supply forecast type, and

the forecast class includes a designated data element to store data indicating whether data elements of the forecast class store data of a demand forecast; and

represent the forecasts provided by the forecast class in a common format.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the plurality of entities related to the forecast includes entities selected from the group consisting of a related business unit, a forecast planner, a related account, a related product, a related sales representative, a related demand source, and related fact data.

31. The system of claim 29 wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

transform the forecast into a first transformed forecast in the common format provided by the forecast class; and

transform the first transformed forecast into a second transformed forecast in a format recognizable by a target system.

32. A system comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory, the processor executing a set of instructions which cause the processor to

receive forecast data from a source application, and

transform the forecast data into a common format provided by a forecast class, wherein

the forecast class represents forecasts of different types,

the forecast class identifies a set of relationships of a forecast with a plurality of entities related to the forecast,

the forecast class includes a designated data element to store data indicating whether data elements of the forecast class store data of a demand forecast, and

the different forecast types comprise a demand forecast type and a supply forecast type.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the plurality of entities related to the forecast includes entities selected from the group consisting of a related business unit, a forecast planner, a related account, a related product, a related sales representative, a related demand source, and related fact data.

34. The system of claim 32 wherein a first transformed data comprises the forecast data transformed into the common format, and the instructions further cause the processor to:

transform the first transformed data into a second transformed data in a format recognizable by a target system.

35. An apparatus comprising:

means for defining a forecast class that represents forecasts of different types, wherein

the forecast class identifies a set of relationships of a forecast with a plurality of entities related to the forecast,

the different forecast types comprise a demand forecast type and a supply forecast type, and

the forecast class includes a designated data element to store data indicating whether data elements of the forecast class store data of a demand forecast; and

means for representing the forecasts provided by the forecast class in a common format.

36. The apparatus of claim 35 further comprising:

means for transforming the forecast into a first transformed forecast in the common format provided by the forecast class; and

means for transforming the first transformed forecast into a second transformed forecast in a format recognizable by a target system.

37. An apparatus for data transformation, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving forecast data from a source application; and

means for transforming the forecast data into a common format provided by a forecast class, wherein

the forecast class represents forecasts of different types,

the forecast class identifies a set of relationships of a forecast with a plurality of entities related to the forecast,

the forecast class includes a designated data element to store data indicating whether data elements of the forecast class store data of a demand forecast, and

the different forecast types comprise a demand forecast type and a supply forecast type.

38. The apparatus of claim 37 wherein a first transformed data comprises the forecast data transformed into the common format, the apparatus further comprising:

means for transforming the first transformed data into a second transformed data in a format recognizable by a target system.