A Basic Statistical Approach to Handle Demand Variability in a Simple Supply Chain

Uncertainty in customer demand is a common issue in supply chain systems and often results ininefficient inventory decisions. This paper presents a simplified statistical study to understand and managedemand variability in a single-stage supply chain. Using elementary statistical measures such as averagedemand and variability, the study develops a reorder policy that includes safety stock. The results show thatsimple statistical techniques can effectively support inventory planning and improve service performance,especially for small-scale supply chains and educational applications.