Inventory Management Foundations

Learn how to effectively manage inventory within your company. Explore analytical tools and control systems that can help you improve your inventory management efforts.

Introduction

• What is inventory management?

1. Understanding Inventory

• Inventory management defined
• Types of inventories
• View inventory as money
• Costs of inventory

2. Understanding Inventory Management

• The right amount of inventory
• Reasons to hold inventory
• Understand production inventory
• Understand finished goods inventory
• Manage service inventory

3. Inventory Control Systems

• Sales and operations plan
• Demand forecasting
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
• Materials requirements plan

4. Inventory Analytical Tools

• Radio frequency identification (RFID)
• ABC analysis
• Total cost analysis
• Economic order quantity

5. Inventory Management Methods

• Cycle counting
• Three inventory models
• Vendor-managed inventory
• Collaborative inventory management

Conclusion

• Going further with inventory management