Building a demand forecasting model relies on many factors including the context of the forecast, the viability of available historical data, the degree of accuracy desirable, the period to be forecast, the benefits of the forecast to the company. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu003cstrongu003eForecasting models can be generally differentiated into two groups based on whether they use qualitative or quantitative methods.u003c/strongu003e u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eModels such as a time series model or an econometric model will use quantitative methods because they need large amounts of data to predict future demand trends. u003cbr/u003eOn the other hand, qualitative research like the Delphi method or sales force composite will use human opinions where data is not available or applicable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu003cstrongu003eQuantitative methods are more data accurate but qualitative methods offer more flexibility. u003c/strongu003eIt can readily account for external factors like inflation and market competition, unlike the qualitative model.