Planis the macro process representing the processes associated with establishing an estimation of volumes and/or revenue for current and future periods (the plan) and determining the actions required to achieve 'the plan'. Planning is an iterative process, balancing supply and demand in order to position materials, products and/or capacity to achieve 'the plan'. Balancing is a process of matching demand to supply. The output of balancing are three lists: The demand shortage and supply shortage lists typically drive initiatives to find additional volume/revenue opportunities (chasing supply or demand), allowing for the volume/revenue estimate to improve in subsequent iterations of the plan. The scope and importance ofPlanprocesses depends on the supply chain configuration.Make-to-Stockprocesses depend heavily onPlanprocesses; getting the mix of item numbers correct may make or break the ability to achieve the revenue goals. For non-Make-To-Stock processes (Make-to-Order,Engineer-to-Order,Reverse Logistics) getting capacity right is generally more important.