Demand forecasting results in an estimate of future demand and gives an organization a basis for planning and making sound business decisions. Since the future is unknown, it is expected that some errors between a forecast and actual demand will exist, so the goal of a good forecasting technique would be to minimize the difference between the forecast and the actual demand.

Address the following requirements:

• Articulate the difference in short and long-term forecasts, forecasting techniques, and the benefits and challenges of each technique.
• Create a forecast for a situation with which you are familiar (personal or professional) explaining the situation and why you chose the method of forecasting that you did.