Explanation:

Keeping the right amount of product in stock is critical to businesses. Having too little means running out at inopportune times, causing customers to buy elsewhere. Having too much means paying unnecessarily high costs for storage and inventory management.
Supply forecasting looks at data about your suppliers – whether they provide completed products or parts that are assembled further down the supply chain – and uses it to project how much product they will have available and when. This helps determine the amount that can be ordered and delivered in a specific timeframe. The data important to supply forecasting isn’t limited to production or delivery capacity; factors such as economics, technology and even weather all play a role.
Demand forecasting analyzes how much product your customers are likely to want during a specific week, month or quarter. This data allows organizations to keep a suitable volume in stock – enough to fill customer orders, but not so much that time, money and effort are wasted managing excess or obsolete inventory. Demand forecasting or planning is largely about predicting customer behavior, but it goes beyond simply anticipating wants and needs. Consumer confidence, cultural trends, and seasonality are important considerations.