Demand refers to a buyer's willingness and ability to pay for a good or service. Forecasting is predicting the future based on past and present data. Forecasting is used for production planning, sales forecasting, inventory control, and long-term investment growth and stability. Short-term forecasting helps with production scheduling, reducing goods, determining price policies, and short-term financial planning. Long-term forecasting assists with new unit or expansion planning, man-power planning, and long-term financial planning. Forecasting methods include consumer surveys, statistical techniques like trend projection, and graphical and least squares methods.

3. Demand is a buyer's willingness
and ability to pay a price for a
specific quantity of a good or
service.

4. Forecasting is a process of
predicting or estimating the
future based on past and present
data.

5.  Production planning
 Sales forecasting
 Inventory control
 Growth of long-term investment
programmes
 Stability

6.  Need of short-term forecasting
Appropriate production scheduling
Helping the firm in reducing goods
Determining appropriate price policy
Forecasting short-term financial
requirement

7.  Need of long-term forecasting
Planning of a new unit or expansion of
an existing unit
Planning man-power requirement
Planning long-term financial
requirement

8. Consumer survey method
• Complete enumeration method
• Sample survey & test marketing
• End-use method
Sales force opinion method
Delphi technique

9. Statistical Method
• Trend projection method
• Graphical method

10. • Least square method