Demand Forecasting as a Veritable Tool for Higher Managerial Efficiency in Industries in Nigeria

This study aimed at exploring the benefits of demand forecasting and portrayed it as a veritable tool for increasing managerial efficiency in industries in Nigeria. The study is an effort to show that the utilisation of demand forecasting could become a veritable way of minimizing wastages, thereby maximizing profits, recovering and reviving of Nigeria's ailing and moribund industries. In Specific terms, limestone production and sales in Nigeria was used for a practical illustration. In doing this, the least squares approach and t-test statistics were used to analyse limestone production and sales in Nigeria from 2001-2010. Projections were also made for limestone production and sales from 2011-2014. 2011 was used as a base year to compare projections with actual realizations for limestone production and sales data. It was found that there was no significant difference between the projected and real values for the limestone production and sales in the base year, thus, re-affirming the efficacy of demand forecasting. It was therefore recommended among other things that managers rely strongly on demand forecasting throughout their operations.