Could a store have the right products but the wrong quantities?
Knowing what to stock is different from knowing how much to stock.
Product selection and inventory forecasting are often treated as the same challenge. They are not.
The hidden mechanism is quantity uncertainty. A business may know exactly which products customers prefer while still struggling to predict demand volume.
Imagine a pharmacy that stocks the correct medicine but underestimates how many customers will need it during a particular week. The product choice is correct, but availability still fails.
A second-order effect develops because stockouts distort future forecasting. Once customers stop expecting availability, demand becomes harder to measure accurately.
People often think inventory problems begin with the wrong products. Many begin with the wrong numbers.
