There is a significant amount of planning that goes into ensuring goods are readily available for consumers. How does the store know to have a certain item, in a certain place, at a certain time allowing a customer to make a purchase? These are the questions demand planning looks to answer. Not only that, demand planning looks to do this as accurately as possible. Not too much and not too little, as each variance from demand negatively impacts costs. Communication from various departments with demand knowledge or consumer insights is critical for the accuracy of the plan. They are each reliant on supporting each other to formulate a demand plan that will match consumer demand and meet the organization's financial objectives.
*This course references US legislation and statistics.