When one considers the increasingly virtual and volatile nature of commerce, this can have dramatic implications.

Forecasting demand is no longer measured in days and months; it is gauged in hours and minutes. If an organization’s process for gathering, disseminating and utilizing data takes too long, or if the data is marked by redundancies, inaccuracies or irrelevancies, information can lose what is now a smaller window of opportunity to provide meaning and impact.

The ability to generate a nearly instant forecast that can be applied the same day is increasingly essential to strengthening the bottom line, gaining market share, keeping inventory lean, and continually meeting and exceeding customer expectations.

“Demand forecasting is essentially a linear process of translating input assumptions into a forecast of expected sales; demand management, by contrast, is a highly iterative process that involves driving to a revenue and profit target through prioritization of customers, channels, products, geographies and the demand stimulation programs available to the enterprise

Keeping inventory levels low, costs down and customers happy in a Web-based, now largely global marketplace requires companies to proactively forecast and manage supply and demand dynamically – supported by best-of-breed techniques, technologies and practices. Today, this calls for a delicate balance of art, science and technology. Numerous forces, some of which overlap, must come into play:

1.Internal – The brand; market segment; product mix; corporate culture; sales performance; geographic presence, and customer satisfaction levels

2.Economic – The industry; the