Which demand type is directly related to the demand for other items or finished products?

Which demand type is directly related to the demand for other items or finished products?

• A. Independent
• B. Dependent
• C. Seasonal
• D. Derived

Answer: (B)

When planning materials, some demands come from customers for finished products, while others arise because those finished products require specific components. The demand that is directly tied to needing other items or the finished product is dependent demand. It’s derived from the production plan and the bill of materials: if you plan to produce a certain number of units, you calculate exactly how many of each component is needed, creating dependent demand for those parts. Independent demand, by contrast, comes from market or customer demand for the final product itself and isn’t driven by another item. Seasonal refers to patterns over time, not the dependency between items. Derived demand is often used synonymously with dependent, but in this context the term they’re looking for is dependent.