Inventory Management
Inventory is a critical element to most businesses, but different functions within a business have different perceptions of how much inventory there should be. Sales tend to want large volumes of inventory to guarantee service; finance want the inventory minimised to reduce working capital, and operations want sufficient raw material to keep equipment operating efficiently. In addition, all inventories need to be of the right quality, positioned in the right place, at the right time, and in the right quantity. The difficult task of inventory management is to balance and satisfy all of these needs.
Is Your Inventory Optimised?
All too often companies use ‘rule of thumb’ techniques for inventory management that do not stand up to scrutiny. These techniques are not scientific, or factual, and are often based on perception or intangible experience. In many companies this leads to over-inflated inventory holding, ‘squirrel’ stocks and conflicting ideas between sales, finance, operations and supply chain as to how much inventory is truly required.
A Fact-Based Inventory Policy Can Be Developed In Any Business
Inventory Optimisation
Our Approach To Inventory Management
- Appropriate warehouse and inventory management techniques to optimise workflow and costs
- Optimised target inventories (holding cost vs. ordering cost vs. service)
- Optimised warehouse design/stores layout, handling practices and workflows
- Tactical stock location(s) and picking strategies
- Safety stock requirements to meet specified service targets
- Improved demand forecasting to allow for optimised inventories
- Warehouse automation and Materials Handling Systems development and implementation management
- Dynamic inventory targets reflecting varying demand patterns
- WMS operational requirements specification
- Cost to serve and pick rate modelling to support chosen optimised solutions
