Michael Liedtke

AP Technology Writer

Your Complete Guide to Inventory Forecasting

Your Complete Guide to Inventory Forecasting

An accurate inventory forecast is invaluable, especially when supply chains and consumer demand are changing rapidly. Effective inventory forecasting can mean the difference between profitability and piles of unsold goods that eat up your available cash.

This April 18, 2019, file photo shows a sign for Zoom Video Communications ahead of their Nasdaq IPO in New York. Zoom is still booming, raising prospects that the video-conferencing service will be able to sustain its momentum, even as the easing pandemic lessens the need for virtual meetings.

Zoom's Boom Continues

The company's post-pandemic hopes maintain momentum.

In this March 24, 2020 file photo, Woodward Avenue is shown nearly empty in Detroit. Before the coronavirus showed up, downtown Detroit was returning to its roots as a vibrant city center, motoring away from its past as the model of urban ruin. Now, with the coronavirus forcing many office workers to their homes in the suburbs, those who remain wonder if revitalization will ever return.

From Detroit to Oakland, Pandemic Threatens Urban Renewal

In resurgent cities, businesses were banking on continued growth to fund investments.

In this still image provided by Apple from the keynote video of a special event at Apple Park in Cupertino, Calif., Apple's Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams unveils Apple Watch Series 6 on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. Apple is introducing the cheaper version of its smart watch in its latest attempt to broaden the appeal of its trend-setting products while more consumers are forced to scrimp during ongoing fallout from the pandemic.

Apple Debuts Discount Watch

But no new iPhones ... yet.

In this Feb. 7, 2019, file photo, Christina Taft, the daughter of Camp Fire victim Victoria Taft, displays a collage of photos of her mother, at the burned out ruins of the Paradise, Calif., home where she died in 2018. Pacific Gas & Electric officials are to be expected to appear in court Tuesday, June 16, 2020, to plead guilty for the deadly wildfire that nearly wiped out the Northern California town of Paradise in 2018.

PG&E to Plead Guilty to Deaths

The company is accused of 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter.

In this Nov. 21, 2019, file photo, Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduces the Cybertruck at Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, Calif. Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears to have hit all the milestones necessary to receive a stock award currently worth about $730 million to pad the eccentric billionaire's already vast fortune. The electric car maker ended Wednesday, May 6, 2020, with an average market value of $100.4 billion for the past six months, according to data drawn from FactSet Research.

Elon Musk Nets $730M Stock Award

Tesla just cleared the last hurdle needed for Musk to receive nearly 1.69 million stock options.

In this Nov. 18, 2019, file photo, Pacific Gas & Electric CEO Bill Johnson speaks during an oversight hearing of the Energy, Utilities and Communications committee at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif.

PG&E CEO Quits After 14 Months

The nation's largest utility hired him to rescue it from a financial mess caused by a history of negligence.

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Outbreak Hits Tech Darlings

The pandemic has offered a harsh reality check.

In this Aug. 15, 2019, file photo, a Pacific Gas & Electric worker walks in front of a truck in San Francisco.

Tumult Threatens PG&E Deal

The red flag raised in court documents filed Monday threatens to derail PG&E's plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

This Wednesday, March 18, 2020, file photo, shows a Tesla charging station for automobiles in Port Huron, Mich. T

Tesla's Sales Were Surging Before Pandemic

The company had to slam the brakes because of worldwide efforts to contain the worst pandemic in a century.

In this Nov. 17, 2018, file photo, a California Office of Emergency Services worker hands out bottles of water to Camp Fire evacuees waiting in line at the Chico FEMA station in Chico, Calif.

PG&E Settles Battle Over $13.5B Wildfire Victims' Fund

PG&E told a federal bankruptcy judge that it has settled a dispute with disaster-relief agencies that threatened to siphon money away from a $13.5 billion fund earmarked for victims of catastrophic wildfires in California.

In this Dec. 19, 2018, photo provided by Tort Claimants Committee, representing victims of wildfires, shows Pacific Gas & Electric's Cresta-Rio Oso transmission line, about 100 yards (91 meters) from another transmission line known as Caribou-Palmero, that is responsible for igniting the Camp Fire.

PG&E Still Has a Rickety Power Line

Just two months ago, an expert found rusty equipment and parts wrapped in electrical tape.