Supply chain management: inventory management and control

Identify the five fundamental inventory types—raw materials, work in progress, finished goods, MRO items, and backing materials—and learn to plan, store, and account for them in production and retail.

Identify finished goods inventory types in a retail context to improve visibility and management. Distinguish available, allocated, in transit, and seasonal or anticipation stock as core concepts.

Master inventory forecasting to balance cash flow and stock to meet demand, using sales forecasts, forecast periods (annual, 90 days, 30 days), monthly reviews, and adjustments for seasonality and trends.

Incorporate trends and variables into inventory forecasting by evaluating sales velocity, marketing activity, and seasonality. Adjust forecasts for unexpected publicity and industry specific events to better anticipate future demand.

Learn how to forecast new products with limited data by using trends, market research, and pilot inventory, then plan replenishment through data-driven reorder points and lead times.

Examine zinc inventory purchasing decisions to determine order quantity and timing. Analyze break-even concepts—cost, volume, and profit—with fixed and variable costs and algebraic or graphical methods.

Explore methods of purchasing inventory, including bulk buying, drop shipping, just in time, and their trade-offs for storage, costs, and lead times.

Compare order button, control rhythm, and reorder point methods, and apply reorder point calculation (lead time times demand plus safety stock) to time purchases and avoid stockouts.

Learn how to determine the optimal order quantity using economic order quantity, balancing forecasted demand, ordering and carrying costs, and bulk discounts with automated purchasing.

Evaluate drop shipping, third-party logistics, and self-fulfillment to optimize inventory storage, control quality, and speed of shipping, while balancing costs and long-term growth.

Design a warehouse layout that balances office space, storage, and safe, accessible workflow. Use clear labeling and ABC analysis to place high-value and fast-moving items near packing and receiving.

Explore essential inventory storage equipment, from shelving and warehouse bins to barcode scanners and CCTV, with packing carts, packing materials, printers, and security considerations varying with goods.

Analyze inventory via regular auditing and KPIs for continuous improvements. Compare metrics to past results and benchmarks to reduce stock outs and shrinkage, improve cash flow, profitability, and customer experience.

Apply ABC analysis to inventory by computing value equals price times consumption, sorting by value, and classifying items into A, B, and C to tailor safety stock and reordering rules.

This lecture explains average inventory as the mean stock across two or more accounting periods, its calculation, and its relation to inventory turnover and seasonal fluctuations.

Explore inventory turnover, an efficiency ratio that measures how efficiently cost of goods sold relates to average inventory, revealing turnover rate, holding costs, and liquidity implications.

Assess sell through rate as a key inventory management KPI that measures units sold versus units received over a timeframe, highlighting efficiency in converting inventory to revenue.

Analyze days of inventory outstanding, a metric that ties average inventory and cost of goods sold to measure how quickly inventory is cleared and liquidity.

Safety stock reduces stock-out risk and buffers against slow suppliers and unexpected demand, calculated as max daily usage times max lead time minus average daily usage times average lead time.

Learn how to calculate the reorder point to prevent stockouts and excessive inventory by using average daily usage, lead time, and safety stock, balancing holding costs and profits.

Learn how the economic order quantity optimizes inventory by balancing holding costs and ordering costs under constant demand, using the EOQ formula and a practical example.

Assess how obsolescence and loss trigger a direct write-off or allowance method to remove inventory from the ledger and affect net income, retained earnings, and shareholder's equity.

Learn how to calculate gross margin return on investment by dividing gross margin by average inventory costs to evaluate inventory profitability, with ROI above one signaling profit.

Analyze back order rate, the percentage of total orders that become back orders, and understand how forecast replenish, track inventory, and multichannel inventory influence stock levels.

Explore inventory management techniques to forecast, purchase, store, and analyze stock while optimizing control and fulfillment; apply EOQ, ABC analysis, dedicated warehouse bins, and automated metrics tracking.

Explore inventory fulfillment options for e-commerce, including drop shipping, third-party logistics, and self-fulfillment, highlighting pros, cons, and how the best choice depends on business needs.

Take forecasting seriously to avoid stockouts or overstock and rising carrying costs, and use past 30–90 days data for short-term demand and a long-term view of when demand spikes.

Determine a distinct reorder point for every product, factoring stock, safety stock, and lead time to prevent stockouts and improve warehouse service.

Calculate the economic order quantity to balance minimal ordering costs and carrying cost by applying demand, ordering costs, and carrying cost in inventory management.

Assign each product variant a dedicated warehouse bin with numeric and alphanumeric labels, avoiding fancy names to keep locations simple and inventory management strong.

Implement a first-in, first-out policy to sell older inventory first, preventing damage, decay, or products near best-before dates, and discuss valuation methods with your accountant.

Prioritize inventory with the ABC analysis to identify the most valuable items driving revenue, sorting stock into A, B, and C buckets and focusing on high-margin, high-sales items.

Track key inventory metrics to reveal performance and guide decisions. Measure inventory turnover, write-offs, GMROI, sell-through rate, days of inventory outstanding, and backorder rate to optimize control and profitability.

Spread the physical inventory process through cycle counting to improve accuracy with weekly tasks and spot checks. Avoid traditional annual shutdowns by using cycle counting, which reduces downtime and costs.

Automate inventory management with integrated software to synchronize real-time stock across channels, forecast demand, manage suppliers and purchasing orders, and automate rules for orders, shipping, and accounting on one platform.

Master how on-hand inventory is a business asset and how to value unsold inventory for end-of-year financial records, focusing on cost of goods sold and valuation methods.

Explore inventory valuation methods, including fifo, lifo, and average cost, and learn how these affect financial statements, stock management, and peak-season planning.

Learn how inventory tracking monitors stock levels and moves materials through the supply chain using real-time data to meet demand and reduce costs via inventory management systems.

Track inventory end-to-end from suppliers to sales using methods like kanban, spreadsheets, or cloud systems. Manage restock, production, quality control, order fulfillment, and returns to prevent losses.

Select an inventory tracking method aligned with warehouse scale and goals, then use automated replenishment and demand forecasting to improve accuracy, cost efficiency, space savings, and customer satisfaction.

Master inventory management by outlining the duties of an inventory manager, from receiving and recording stock to monitoring levels, forecasting needs, and timely replenishment.