Demand Estimation Essay

779 Words4 Pages
When running a business, it is important to have an idea of what you should expect in the way of sales. To estimate how many sales a company will make, demand estimation is a process that is commonly used. With demand estimation, a company can gauge how much to produce and make other important decisions. Demand estimation is a process that involves coming up with an estimate of the amount of demand for a product or service. The estimate of demand is typically confined to a particular period of time, such as a month, quarter or year. While this is definitely not a way to predict the future for your business, it can be used to come up with fairly accurate estimates if the assumptions made are correct. One of the reasons that companies use demand estimation is to assist with pricing. When you offer a new product or start a new business, you may not have any idea how to price your product. When you have an idea of what the demand will be for the product, you know approximately how much you have to price the product. This way, you can avoid overpricing your product and alienating some customers. You may also be able to avoid leaving money on the table. Demand estimation or demand forecast is the process of forming judgment about the quantities to a product or service that will be demanded by customers in the future. Such forecast of demand is used for planning and control of activities in production, procurement, marketing, personnel, and Finance. Forecasting methods are classified in the following four types: 1. Qualitative 2. Time series 3. Causal 4. Simulation Qualitative forecasting methods are primarily subjective: they rely on human judgment and opinion to make a forecast. They are most appropriate when there ale little historical data available or when experts have market intelligence that is critical in making forecast. Such methods may be necessary to

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