$\text{By using exponential constant = 0.7, the forecast demand of March month is \_\_\_\_\_\_ (in integer).}$

Month	Actual demand	Forecast demand
$\text{Jan 2026}$	$500$	$250$
$\text{Feb 2026}$	$635$
$\text{March 2026}$

The correct answer is 572.

To find the forecast demand for March 2026, we use the exponential smoothing method of forecasting. The formula for exponential smoothing is:

$$F_t=F_{t-1}+\alpha (A_{t-1}-F_{t-1})$$

Where:
• $F_t$ is the forecast for the current period (month $t$).
• $F_{t-1}$ is the forecast for the previous period.
• $A_{t-1}$ is the actual demand of the previous period.
��� $\alpha$ is the exponential smoothing constant, which is given as 0.7.

Let us perform the calculations step-by-step:

Step 1: Calculate the Forecast for February 2026 (F_Feb)
Using the values from January 2026 where the actual demand (A_Jan) is 500 and the forecast demand (F_Jan) is 250:
$$F_{\text{Feb}}=F_{\text{Jan}}+\alpha (A_{\text{Jan}}-F_{\text{Jan}})$$
$$F_{\text{Feb}}=250+0.7\times (500-250)$$
$$F_{\text{Feb}}=250+0.7\times 250$$
$$F_{\text{Feb}}=250+175=425$$

Step 2: Calculate the Forecast for March 2026 (F_March)
Now we use the actual demand for February (A_Feb = 635) and the forecast demand we just calculated for February (F_Feb = 425):
$$F_{\text{March}}=F_{\text{Feb}}+\alpha (A_{\text{Feb}}-F_{\text{Feb}})$$
$$F_{\text{March}}=425+0.7\times (635-425)$$
$$F_{\text{March}}=425+0.7\times 210$$
$$F_{\text{March}}=425+147=572$$

Thus, the forecast demand for March 2026 is 572.