Determining appropriate levels of stock across a business can be very challenging. If you carry too much inventory, you risk tying-up much needed working capital. But if you don’t carry enough, you face stock-outs and reduced service levels. An important piece of this puzzle is to accurately calculate safety stock levels. Safety...Read more

In its simplest form, a bill of materials (BOM) is a list of components, parts or materials required to manufacture, assemble or repair a product. A BOM is often hierarchical, with the finished product at the top and sub-items below. In inventory management a BOM is critical to ensure the...Read more

When finished goods are built from a set of components, a Bill of Materials (BOM) is extremely useful for inventory management purposes. A bill of materials is usually associated with production planning in manufacturing, and is typically used in manufacturing software such as materials resource planning systems (MRPs). BOMs are...Read more

If you’re wondering what is the best way to manage inventory with hundreds or even thousands of SKUs, you’ve found your answer: ABC classification (otherwise known as ABC analysis). In this post, we’re going to discuss how you can classify your inventory into three ABC categories and introduce the concept of...Read more

ABC inventory analysis is a method used to classify a business’s stock items into three categories – A, B and C, based on their value to the business. A items are the most important in terms of the value they bring a company, while C items are the least valuable....Read more

The concept of inventory optimization helps many businesses improve their inventory turnover – without damaging stock availability. This post will explain how, but first, let’s deal with a few simple definitions. Many stock-holding businesses have a significant amount of working capital invested in inventory sitting in their warehouse. The quicker...Read more