Croston's method is widely used to predict inventory demand when it is intermittent. However, it is an ad hoc method with no properly formulated underlying stochastic model. In this paper, we explore possible models underlying Croston's method and three related methods, and we show that any...

Intermittent demand commonly occurs with inventory data, with many time periods having no demand and small demand in the other periods. Croston's method is a widely used procedure for intermittent demand forecasting. However, it is an ad hoc method with no properly formulated underlying...