Demand planning is often considered the "engine" that drives a business and requires collaboration and inputs from all departments to be successful. The Demand Planning certification track presents the details necessary to create and utilize a forecast to build an actual demand plan. Forecasting is a process that predicts customer demands. The demand planning process uses the forecast to develop a plan that ensures inventory levels are appropriate to meet the predicted demands. The demand plan is used to create requisitions for the procurement department to obtain the needed goods and services. It is also used to plan manufacturing work orders to turn raw materials and components into finished goods.

Analyst and planning positions in a demand planning organization give individuals with a strong foundation of skills to be successful in every aspect of the broader supply chain organization.