Explain how managers forecast beverage sales.

When forecasting sales, managers seek to predict how many guests will be served and what those guests will buy. After forecasting the number of guests to be served, managers forecast beverage sales using sales history summaries and detailed sales histories. A sales history summary tells managers the proportion of guests who ordered a beer, wine, or spirit product. A detailed sales history provides additional information that is useful when a product brand is offered in various packaging forms. When they are forecasting spirit sales, managers may choose from several forecasting approaches. These include those based on spirit type, by the requested drink, or by the spirit's brand name.