SAS Ships Forecasting ToolSAS Ships Forecasting Tool

SAS debuted an analytics-driven tool designed to help companies build inventory forecasts, the business intelligence giant said Monday.

SAS High-Performance Forecasting performs automatic forecasts in a batch environment. The privately held technology vendor will target industries including retail, manufacturing and banking with the application, which starts at roughly $49,000, depending on its configuration.

The tool is designed to automatically account for outliers in data and key business drivers, including holidays, promotions and other events. Forecasts can be generated by product type, location and supply-and-demand factors. "The automated sophistication of this offering means forecasters no longer need to be statistics experts" to produce forecasts, SAS said in a prepared statement.

High-Performance Forecasting is available immediately.