Product acceptance and sales dictate survival and success. Without sales, even the best products and the most compelling goals become mere dreams. Competitive markets demand that successful corporations become increasingly responsive to changes in customer demand. Immediate response to fluctuations in product volumes and model mixes are key elements of a Demand Flow process.

Linear planning and material forecasting determine the production volumes required to satisfy the quantity and timing of anticipated demand. They also enable the transition from lumpy, infrequent and inaccurate forecasts to linear, daily production plans. The Demand Flow approach calls for flexibility, total product cycle time, forecast consumption techniques, demand-time fences, and planning-flexibility fences. These tools also draw together historically antagonistic constituents in manufacturing companies. These antagonists sales, materials, production, and product planning work on a much more cooperative basis in Demand Flow manufacturing, developing better forecasts and plans in a more manageable system.