Derived Demand denotes that the demand in business markets is closely associated with the demand for consumer goods. When the consumer demand for new cars and trucks increases, the demand for rolled steel also goes up. Of course, when the demand for consumer products goes down, so goes the related demand in business markets. The most effective salespeople identify and monitor the consumer markets that are related to their business customers so they can better anticipate shifts in demand and assist their buyers in staying ahead of the demand shifts rather than beingcaught with too much, too little, or even the wrong inventory. Republic Gypsum’s salespeople accurately forecast a boom in residential construction and the pressure it would put on the supply of sheetrock wallboard. Working cloesly with their key customers, order quantities and shipping dates were revised to prevent those customers from being caught with inadequate inventories to supply the expanded demand. This gave those customers a significant competitive advantage over their competitors who were surprised and suddenly out of stock.