Patent ID: 8050957

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for planning demand for a product with at least one product-dependent characteristic represented by a characteristic value, the method comprising steps, performed by one or more processors, of: retrieving, from a data storage system, historical data including, for characteristic values for products of a family of products, the number of items produced; defining percentages of items in the family to be produced to have the characteristic values; determining percentages of items of the products in the family to be produced to have the characteristic values, based on at least the defined percentages of items in the family; and calculating, for the products in the family, numbers of items to be produced to have the characteristic values, based on at least the retrieved historical data and the determined percentages of items of the products; determining, for at least one of the products in the family, that a planned number of items to be produced exceeds a sum of the calculated number of items to be produced; and modifying the calculated numbers of items to be produced for the at least one of the products, based on at least a relationship between the planned number of items and the sum, wherein the modifying maintains constant a number of items of the at least one of the products in the retrieved historical data.