Safety stock requirements often represent a critical element in the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) game plans for stocked products. For example, the safety stock quantity can be used to anticipate demand variations in S&OP games plans for end-items with demand forecasts and period lot-sizing logic, or it defines the minimum quantity when using Min/Max logic. Safety stock may also reflect an inventory buffer for key components of manufactured items, or for different warehouses in a multi-level distribution network.