Demand Forecasting & Supply Planning Flashcards
7 cards from real CIM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Demand Forecasting & Supply Planning flashcards as text
Which forecasting approach uses external indicators such as housing starts or GDP to predict future demand?
Answer: Econometric/causal modeling
Causal (econometric) models identify relationships between demand and external variables (leading indicators) to generate forecasts.
In the context of supply planning, 'Available to Promise (ATP)' represents:
Answer: Uncommitted inventory that can be promised to new customer orders
ATP is the portion of on-hand inventory and planned production not yet committed to customer orders, used to confirm delivery dates.
Forecast error that follows a random pattern with no consistent over- or under-prediction is called:
Answer: White noise / random error
Random (white noise) error has no pattern and averages to zero over time, indicating the forecasting model has captured all systematic components of demand.
A company experiences demand spikes every December due to holiday shopping. This pattern is an example of:
Answer: Seasonal variation
Seasonal variation refers to regular, predictable demand fluctuations that repeat within a year, often tied to calendar events or weather.
Which of the following metrics measures the average number of absolute forecast errors, expressed in original demand units?
Answer: MAD (Mean Absolute Deviation)
MAD measures forecast accuracy by averaging the absolute values of forecast errors in the same units as the original demand data.
Rough-Cut Capacity Planning (RCCP) is used in conjunction with which planning level?
Answer: Master Production Schedule (MPS)
RCCP checks whether key resources (machines, labor) can support the MPS by performing a high-level capacity check against the master schedule.
Which technique disaggregates an aggregate production plan into specific products, time periods, and production quantities?
Answer: Master Production Scheduling (MPS)
The MPS translates the higher-level aggregate plan into specific item-level production quantities and timing across the planning horizon.