Which practice helps ensure that resources align with anticipated demand to minimize delays?

Capacity planning is the practice that ensures resources align with anticipated demand, which is critical for minimizing delays. This involves forecasting future demand for a product or service and determining the necessary resources—such as personnel, equipment, and facilities—to meet that demand. By accurately assessing the volume of work and required capacity, businesses can avoid over-allocating or under-allocating their resources, leading to an efficient operation and the ability to satisfy customer needs on time.

Effective capacity planning allows organizations to scale their resources appropriately in advance of spikes in demand, thus preventing bottlenecks in the production or service delivery processes. This proactive approach not only supports operational efficiency but also enhances customer satisfaction, as services and products are delivered without unnecessary delays.

Operational planning, project management, and supply chain management play important roles in an organization, but they focus on different aspects. Operational planning generally addresses the day-to-day management of resources and activities rather than specifically aligning capacity with demand. Project management emphasizes completing specific projects within defined constraints rather than the ongoing alignment of resources with fluctuating demands. Supply chain management deals with the flow of goods and services from suppliers to customers but won't necessarily focus on the internal capacity of resources to meet that demand. Therefore, capacity planning clearly takes precedence in this context