Scenario This year, management has decided to offer a significant discount during peak season on current widget inventory due to the upcoming release of the new and improved Widget 2.0 arriving next year. Assuming each square on slide 2 of the Demand Forecasting Graph presentation (titled EOQ and Demand Adjustments) is equal to an economic order quantity, how and when would you recommend preparing for the estimated surge in demand for the sale? What other elements of the supply chain should be considered when preparing for this increase in demand?

Demand Forecasting Exercise for Summer Widgets EOQ and Demand Adjustments - Boxes are the economic order quantity for the item from suppliers - This ensures the most cost-efficient order for both price and delivery time - Blue line is steady-state seasonal demand - Red line indicates that a sale is planned just prior to peak season - Yellow line is the fallout from poor publicity about the health hazards of the product, which are later debunked