Since the industrial revolution, the dominant business model has required anticipation of what customers will demand in the future. Because information concerning purchase behavior was not readily available and firms loosely linked together in channel of distribution did not feel compelled to share their plans. business operations were driven by forecasts whole The typical manufacturer produced products based on market forecast. Likewise, wholesalers distributors, and retailers purchased inventory based on their unique forecasts and promotional plans. Since e forecast results were typically wrong ,considerable existed between what firms planned to do and what they in fact ended up doing Such variation typically resulted in unplanned inventory. Because of high cost and risk associated with conducting business on an anticipitory basis. the prevailng relationship between trading partners was often adversarial; each firm needed to protect it own interest