In MTS (Make to Stock), products are manufactured based on demand forecasts. Since accuracy of the forecasts will prevent excess inventory and opportunity loss due to stockout, the issue here is how to forecast demands accurately.

MTS (Make to Stock) literally means to manufacture products for stock based on demand forecasts, which can be regarded as push-type production. MTS has been required to prevent opportunity loss due to stockout and minimize excess inventory using accurate forecasts. In the industrialized society of mass production and mass marketing, this forecast mass production urged standardization and efficient business management such as cost reduction.

As an economy expands, the income of consumers increases and so demand also continuously increases. Demand changes according to the boom and bust cycle of the economy. Even if demand decreases and inventory increases, inventory will turn into cash one day when demand recovers. Therefore, the main theme of business management is how to predict the future based on the demand fluctuation cycle of the past. In specific, the development of a production/inventory management system is needed to improve management efficiency by, for example, setting safety stock, optimal production, and ordering points based on lead times of material procurement, production, and delivery as well as demand forecasts.

If demand can be accurately forecasted to some extent then there is no problem in creating a forecast production schedule. If MTO (Make To Order) is like an elevator because MTO starts by receiving an order as an elevator starts by pressing a button, MTS (Make to Stock) is like a train schedule (supply schedule) for which the number of passengers (forecast demand) for each time period can be prospected from the past data. Most of daily necessities such as processed foods, sundries, and textiles are MTS-type