The availability heuristic is a psychological bias in decision-making, where individuals estimate the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind. In supply chain management, this can result in poor forecasting or inventory decisions—for example, over-ordering a product that recently went out of stock, despite a long-term trend of low demand. Understanding and mitigating this bias is important for inventory optimization. Organizations can overcome availability heuristics by relying on data-driven forecasting models and inventory analytics instead of gut feelings or isolated events. This ensures more accurate demand planning and avoids costly overcorrections in stock levels.
