Discuss several demand forecasting issues.

Demand forecasting issues include the situation at hand, forecasting costs in terms of time and money, and the accuracy of various forecasting techniques.  With respect to the situation at hand, judgmental forecasting is appropriate when there is little or no historical data.  As for time and money, survey research, for example, can cost a great deal of money and/or also take a great deal of time depending on the media.  Forecasting accuracy refers to the relationship between actual and forecasted demand, and accurate forecasts have allowed some companies to reduce finished goods inventory; one company, for example, had to carry nearly twice as much inventory as actually needed because of inaccurate demand forecasts.