LAUSR

Purpose The purpose of this paper, because of the complexity of demand time series and the need to construct a more accurate hybrid model that can model all relationships in data, is to propose a parallel-series hybridization of seasonal neural networks and statistical models for demand time series forecasting. Design/methodology/approach The main idea of proposed model is centered around combining parallel and series hybrid methodologies to use the benefit of unique advantages of both hybrid strategies as well as intelligent and classic seasonal time series models simultaneously for achieving results that are more accurate for the first time. In the proposed model, in contrast of traditional parallel and series hybrid strategies, it can be generally shown that the performance of the proposed model will not be worse than components. Findings Empirical results of forecasting two well-known seasonal time series data sets, including the total production value of the Taiwan machinery industry and the sales volume of soft drinks, indicate that the proposed model can effectively improve the forecasting accuracy achieved by either of their components used in isolation. In addition, the proposed model can achieve more accurate results than parallel and series hybrid model with same components. Therefore, the proposed model can be used as an appropriate alternative model for seasonal time series forecasting, especially when higher forecasting accuracy is needed. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the proposed model, for first time and in contrast of traditional parallel and series hybrid strategies, is developed.