Master of Management Studies (M.M.S) Demand Forecasting and Inventory Management Syllabus - Mumbai University 2026

Course objectives

• 1 To familiarize students with concepts, methods, and techniques of demand forecasting.
• 2 To equip students with practical skills for managing and optimizing inventory levels effectively.
• 3 To develop analytical capabilities for evaluating forecasting accuracy, inventory costs, and service levels.
• 4 To foster understanding of technology-driven inventory management systems and forecasting tools.
• 5 To cultivate strategic insights into contemporary challenges and innovations in demand and inventory management.

Course outcomes

• CO1: Remember the importance of demand forecasting in businesses
• CO2: Understand key concepts and techniques of demand forecasting
• CO3: Apply forecasting models to real-world business scenarios
• CO4: Analyze different inventory management techniques and models
• CO5: Evaluate the impact of demand forecasting on supply chain efficiency
• CO6: Develop and implement inventory management strategies to optimize stock levels, minimize costs, and prevent stockouts or overstocking

Unit 1 CO1 · 3 hours

Introduction to Demand Forecasting: Concept & Importance of Demand Forecasting, Qualitative vs. Quantitative Forecasting, Factors affecting forecasting accuracy

Unit 2 CO4, CO5 · 3 hours

Case studies on demand planning

Unit 3 CO1, CO2 · 3 hours

Forecasting Techniques, Time Series Analysis, Moving Averages, weighted Averages, Exponential Smoothing

Unit 4 CO1, CO2 · 3 hours

Regression Analysis & ARIMA Models

Unit 5 CO1, CO2 · 3 hours

Measurement of Forecasting Accuracy with different parameters like MAD, MSE, MAPE and Tracking signal

Unit 6 CO3 · 3 hours

Inventory Management Basics, Types of Inventory, Functions & Costs of Inventory, Just-in-Time (JIT) and Lean Inventory Practices

Unit 7 CO3, CO4 · 3 hours

Inventory Control Techniques, ABC, VED, FSN, and HML Analysis, Numerical on ABC analysis, Case study

Unit 8 CO1, CO2 · 3 hours

Safety Stock & Service Level Determination Continuous vs. Periodic Review Systems

Unit 9 CO3, CO4 · 3 hours

Fixed order interval system, Inventory problem formulation and solution under constraints, Numerical problems.

Unit 10 CO1 · 3 hours

Dynamic Inventory Problems under Certainty: Fixed Order Size System (EOQ and its variants)

Unit 11 CO2, CO4 · 3 hours

Economic Production Quantity (EPQ)

Unit 12 CO3, CO4 · 3 hours

Dynamic Inventory Problems under Risk: Types of inventory control systems with known stock-out costs and service levels

Unit 13 CO3, CO4 · 3 hours

Approximate and exact methods for safety stock determination, Numerical problems

Unit 14 CO3, CO4 · 3 hours

Probabilistic models and safety stock Numerical on the same

Unit 15 CO4, CO5 · 3 hours

Demand-Supply Coordination & Technology Demand-Supply Matching Strategies

Unit 16 CO2 · 3 hours

Role of ERP and Supply Chain Analytics

Unit 17 CO4, CO5 · 3 hours

Technology Adoption: IoT, Blockchain, AI in Inventory & Forecasting

Unit 18 CO5 · 3 hours

Industry Applications & Case Studies Inventory Strategies in Retail, Manufacturing, and E- commerce

Unit 19 CO5 · 3 hours

Demand Forecasting Failures & Lessons Learned

Unit 20 CO5 · 3 hours

Sustainability in Inventory Management Case study on sustainable practices

Textbooks

• 1 Operations management by B. Mahadevan
• 2 Production and Operations Management – Norman Gaither
• 3 Production & Operations Management – Kanishka Bedi (Oxford Publications)

Reference Books

• 1 Tersine, R J, Principles of Inventory and Materials Management, PTR Prentice Hall.
• 2 Modern Production Management – William Smith McGrawHill
• 3 Starr, M K and Miller,D W, Inventory Control: Theory and Practice, Prentice Hall.
• 4 Silver, E A, Pyke, D F and Peterson, R, Inventory Management and Production Planning and Scheduling, John Wiley.