KNOXVILLE — Growing numbers of companies worldwide rely on sales forecasting methods to project an outlook of the future and to gauge corporate performance.
Amway Corp. — a subsidiary of Alticor Inc. — is helping the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Business Administration prepare for the rising demand.
Amway Corp. is establishing a $50,000 Amway Endowed Scholarship in sales forecasting. The scholarship focuses on UT students who either study sales forecasting or who have a specific interest in a sales forecasting career.
“Sales forecasting is not an area in which a person can receive a college degree, yet it is an important and growing business discipline that we want to support,” said Dave Pocklington, director of sales forecasting and analysis at Alticor. “UT’s expertise in this area is evident in our bottom line.
“Amway began forecasting in the mid-1960s, and it has been critical to our success over the years. The University of Tennessee is the only university we’re aware of that has a forecasting curriculum, so we think combining our forces is a win-win for both UT and for Amway.”
Interest from a $50,000 endowment will be used to fund $2,500 in annual Amway scholarships. The first award will be announced at the eighth annual Sales Forecasting Management Forum May 13-15 at UT.
The Sales Forecasting Management Forum is organized by the Department of Marketing and Logistics in UT’s College of Business Administration; it draws forecast management practitioners from organizations worldwide. Forum participants gain a better understanding and appreciation of sales forecasting, demand planning, market analysis and improving forecasting methodologies.
“Companies with sophisticated, highly developed sales forecasting processes have documented returns on investment of more than 200 percent,” said Tom Mentzer, the forum’s executive director. Amway is among the forum’s company sponsors.
The Amway scholarship cements a five-year relationship between Amway and UT’s College of Business Administration. Most of Amway’s forecast analysts have achieved sales forecasting management certification through the UT program, and the company has provided a mutually beneficial summer internship for a UT student. In addition, the research gained through the relationship has been greatly valuable to Amway through priority access to sales forecasting articles and research published by the UT professors and graduate students.
“Our relationship with UT has been tremendous, and we’re thankful for it,” Pocklington said. “We are honored to establish this endowment, which will benefit many UT students and enhance the forecasting discipline for years to come.”
For information on the Amway Endowed Scholarship in sales forecasting or the Sales Forecasting Forum, contact Forum Managing Director J. Paul Dittmann, (865) 974-9413 or jdittman@utk.edu; or Dianne Marshall at (865) 974-0569 or dkmarsh@utk.edu. Information also may be obtained by visiting http://Forums.utk.edu.
Alticor (www.alticor.com) is the parent company of Amway Corp., Quixtar Inc., Access Business Group LLC and Alticor Corporate Enterprises. Headquartered in Ada, Mich., Alticor and its affiliates offer products, business opportunities, and manufacturing and logistics services in more than 80 countries and territories worldwide.
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Contacts:
Cindy Raines, (865) 974-4359, craines1@utk.edu
Alticor media relations, (616) 787-7565, mediainfo@alticor.com.