Which term describes the amount of time potential customers are willing to wait for delivery?

• A. Demand lead time
• B. Demand management
• C. Demand planning
• D. Dispatching

Answer: (A)

The key idea is the time customers are willing to wait for their order to be delivered. That waiting period is captured by demand lead time—the interval from when a demand is identified (typically when a customer places an order) to the moment the product reaches the customer. This metric reflects delivery responsiveness and sets the level of service the business aims to provide; it directly influences planning decisions like how much safety stock to hold and how quickly to replenish.

The other terms describe different activities: demand planning is about forecasting and shaping expected demand; demand management focuses on influencing or smoothing demand; dispatching is the action of releasing orders to production or suppliers. None of these specifically denote the customer’s waiting time for delivery in the way demand lead time does.