As globalisation encourages supplier networks to extend across the world, the likelihood of supply chain disruption increases. Supply chain disruption is when events, sometimes planned, sometimes unpredictable, affect the supply of inventory. Often, if not dealt with effectively, it can make it challenging to fullfil orders on time and, as...Read more

Many inventory planners find that their current processes are sufficient for basic tasks, such as ordering, processing and tracking stock items across their business. However, when it comes to carrying out more sophisticated tasks, such as forecasting demand, classifying stock and setting replenishment rules, many begin to experience problems. Are...Read more

When inventory planners calculate reorder points, they often decide how many days of stock e.g stock days they want to have left, before triggering the order. These calculations are often done manually, in excel, and the data is then input into their stock ordering system, so it has the relevant...Read more

It’s not an easy task to manage thousands of stock items that come from a range of suppliers and get sent out to an extensive customer base. To help control such complexity, businesses can introduce models to prioritise their management. They can then apply a level of control to each...Read more

Chinese New Year might seem like a long way off, but smart inventory managers will start planning for this event very soon. The more prepared you are, the greater your ability to ensure that this annual supplier shutdown causes as little disruption as possible. This post looks at the challenges...Read more

ABC classification (also called ABC analysis) is used by inventory management teams to help identify the most important stock items in their portfolio and ensure they focus on managing them above those less valuable. Using ABC classification, inventory is divided into three categories, A (most important), B (fairly important) and...Read more