FREE Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) Demand Management and Forecasting Questions and Answers Flashcards

Actual demand was 100 and 200 units in two periods, with forecasts of 90 and 220 units. What is the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE)?

Answer: 10%

Each period has a 10% absolute error relative to actual, so MAPE = 10%.

What is the primary purpose of Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR)?

Answer: Having trading partners jointly develop and share forecasts and replenishment plans

CPFR is a framework in which retailers and suppliers collaborate on a single shared forecast and replenishment plan.

Which practice most directly reduces the bullwhip effect in a supply chain?

Answer: Sharing point-of-sale data with upstream suppliers

Sharing actual end-customer demand data prevents each tier from amplifying distorted order signals.

On-hand inventory is 20 units, the MPS shows a receipt of 100 units in period 1, and customer orders before the next MPS receipt total 70 units. What is the available-to-promise in period 1?

Answer: 50

ATP = on hand + MPS − committed orders = 20 + 100 − 70 = 50.

Which activity is an example of demand shaping?

Answer: Running a price promotion to shift demand into a low-volume period

Demand shaping uses levers like pricing and promotions to influence when and how much customers buy.

A one-time, unusually large order from a new customer appears in the demand history. How should it be treated when building a statistical forecast?

Answer: Identified as abnormal demand and handled separately from the baseline history

Abnormal demand should be filtered from history so it does not distort the baseline forecast.

Demand for the last three periods was 90, 110, and 130 units. What is the three-period simple moving average forecast for the next period?

Answer: 110

(90 + 110 + 130) / 3 = 110.