Demand Planning
What is the difference between forecasting and planning?
A forecast estimates what demand will be. A plan decides what you will do about it. The forecast is a number you do not control; the plan commits cash, capacity, and supplier slots, and it has to respect minimums, lead times, and budget that the forecast knows nothing about.
Tools that stop at the forecast leave the expensive half to a spreadsheet. The plan is where the constraints bind, and it is the step that actually results in stock arriving.
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