ABSTRACT
The success of a manufacturing supply chain depends on its ability to accurately forecast customer demands and produce in time to meet those demands. Thus, forecasting is the starting point for most supply chain management decisions. Based on the demand forecasts, aggregate production planning is done to plan production. Distribution and allocation of resources (equipment, labor, etc.), called material requirements planning, generally follows an aggregate production plan. In this chapter, we will discuss commonly practiced forecasting methods in industry and quantitative models for aggregate production planning.
