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Case study on factors affecting inventory management
Conceptual framework on inventory management
Conceptual framework on inventory management
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The first and one of the most important concepts in this case to understand is inventory management and the objectives of good inventory management . Inventory management can be defined as “the practice of overseeing and controlling the quantities of finished products for sale” (“Inventory Management,” n.d.). Thus, in relation to this case, inventory management is the practice of overseeing and controlling the various amounts of food and drinks for sale. Good inventory management is crucial for the overall success of Wegman’s and every other business entity’s operations. Inventory management is concerned with achieving a high level of customer satisfaction and maintaining inventory costs (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 550). Ultimately, customer …show more content…
Continuously, controlling inventory costs is essential to good inventory management. This assertion is based on the fact that inventory is usually one of the major assets of a business, and “represents a major investment that is tied up” until it is sold (“Inventory Management,” n.d.). With this being said, poor inventory management could be a major cost to a business such as Wegmans. These imposed costs could be caused by missed deliveries, lost sales and customers, and production bottlenecks. Furthermore, an overstocked inventory could result in fixed costs from tied up space and investments (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 550). These results could potentially …show more content…
Capacity planning can be defined as “the process of determining short-term capacity requirements” (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 513). This method uses production schedules that are based on sales demand forecasts. The information needed to undergo the capacity planning process includes “planned order releases for the [materials requirement plan], the current shop load, routing information, and job times” (Stevenson, 2015, 513). Once managers have all the aforementioned information, they can then generate load reports for each work center (Stevenson, 2015, 513). These reports will then inform production managers of the appropriate adjustments that must be made in order to match demand. The capacity planning cycle is then restarted. This process will affect inventory if production adjustments require the modification of inventory. For instance, more inventory may have to be ordered which will increase inventory costs. In order to successfully manage inventory, Wegmans must be aware of the various effects that could result from these inventory
As a retailer and a supplier, Sobeys has an extremely large balance in their inventory account. During 2015, the inventories are more than 50% of the total current assets, and 13% of the total assets. We will compare the inventory accounts of 100 randomly chosen locations out of the 258 locations, as well as the 3 Cash & Carry stores. The company’s main portion of the total inventories would be food related, and they have certain shelf lives. If the unsold inventories are sitting in the warehouse for too long, then the inventory will be unable to sell, and this brings risk to future revenues. So the company should monitor the entire food related inventory, and strictly follow the FIFO rule. We need to compare the average inventory on hand ratio to other competitors in the same industry to find out if the inventory control has serious issues. Also, inquire inventory evaluation at the warehouses and possibly observe a test count done by
Before inventory productivity can be improved, one must take a careful and critical look at the specific business entity, which in this case is Austin Wood Products. In the case it stated that there is no way to know what is available in the storage room until you get there is a huge concern. There is usually a 50 percent chance of obtaining the needed lumber for a job, and this is interfering with productivity. In the area of inventory management, the purchasing professional should make explicit decisions. There are many things that the company must be aware of. Some things you must take into consideration are what to stock, how must to invest, and how much service to offer. In regards to what to stock, the purchasing professional, at the very minimum, must meet the requirements and needs of the manufacturer or distribution operation. Austin Wood Products failed to have any formal stock management technique in effect to take care of raw materials & done merchandise. The stock count is finished by hand & takes days. They weren't maintaining any stock record at all. The significance of demand conjointly was tough to foretell because it varied from year to successive. The metric was that the stock turnover that relates stock levels to the merchandise sales volume was turned numerous times every quarter. Austin Wood Products doesn't place a significant stress on maintaining correct inventory records. So, implementing an inventory control system can modernize the system. Once they develop and implement this inventory control system, inventory records are going to be upheld truthfully and that they will get the accurate standing of the inventory up-to-date. In order to maintain the steady continuous supply for production need...
Kuiper Leda lacks an effective Inventory Management to handle properly the increase in demand of stock and production. An inventory management plan would be capable of forecasting errors in production, client-required service levels, total lead time in manufacturing a unit or batch of the product, and demand priorities. Inventory control is a challenge currently because of the size of Midland Motor's order. In order to meet the demand the company needs to increase the inventory which increases the inventory costs. KL have an opportunity of using the Just - In - Time method of inventory control which eliminates waste by making the resources and labor available only in the time and amount required. It will help increase productivity, product quality and work performance while saving inventory costs for the company. (Curtin, 2008). Kuiper Leda also needs to keep in mind that they will still have to fill orders from other clients that have previously placed orders or even new customers.
On the same note, it is well acknowledged that the competitiveness of any organization fundamentally depends on the workforce. Indeed, the workforce is recognized as the heart or living organism of any organization including hotels. It goes without saying that there is minimum likelihood that a restaurant where workers operate in unsafe conditions or are mistreated will offer services and products of the highest quality. Scholars note that employees always desire to work in institutions or restaurants that have high standards of integrity and strive to do the appropriate thing (Fox & Vorley, 2004 pp. 33). This is especially so for the new generation workforce, as well as in attracting the best talent in the industry. A reputation for responsibility and integrity has been recognized as crucial in motivating, as well as recruiting staff especially considering that individuals care about the principles and values that their employers wish to uphold. Scholars note that operating voluntarily to high ethical standards pertaining to environment and social responsibility can result in competitive advantage (Schlegelmilch et al, 2004, pp. pp 254). Customers and civil society groups have been increasingly vigilant in determining whether there is an ethical lapse in the manner in which employees are treated within the supply chain of any organization (Fox & Vorley, 2004 pp. 33). In fact, they have been pressurizing restaurants and other business entities to cut ties with any organization in their supply chain that is not ethical in its treatment of employees. Scholars note that the impression that a restaurant or business entity would create in terms of public relations both on the stakeholders and the customers is highly dependent on the ac...
In particular, a recent Y-O-Y inventory increase belies a misread of increased demand, which means short turn times and trendier inventory that grows stale on the store shelves. This, in turn, means customers are less incented to return to the retailer to check out “what 's new”. This decreases in repeat visits in turn leads to longer inventory turn times, which in turns leads to loss of profit. In short, a revamped Kohl 's that moves inventory more quickly immediately becomes more attractive to the
The one reason of Walmart’s success is its Supply Chain and Logistics management. The company is saving significant cost by using its information system properly that managed inventory level, orders, sales and other information. Any information can be easily accessible at each store at any
For a company to have an excessive amount of inventory usually cause by poor managing skills. This will also result to not planning to keep track the life cycle of their products, forecasting stock demands, and also replenishing the inventory that’s out of stock. Excessive amount of inventory usually means there is a lost of profit being made someone. Where it is the consumers not purchasing the goods anymore or your company is hurting from not selling the goods and letting the inventory stack up.
In the retail stores, managers are complaining of frequent stock outs even though the DC is full of merchandise, which is not moving enough through the supplier, DC, and retail stores. The inventory issue also ties in with transportation problems where accurate lead and delivery times are non-existent. The inventory turnover is not at its full potential because if the DC has merchandise yet the stores are stocked out, the inventory is frozen and will become obsolete.
The just-in-time (JIT) inventory system was developed in Japan after World War II, in an effort to control costs during fiscally challenging economic times (Waguespack and Cantor, 1996). The challenge that faced many Japanese companies in the post-War era was to find a way to meet the needs of customers and businesses while utilizing as few resources and as little capital as possible. The Japanese developed these set of techniques in order to control production, limit unnecessary products and reinvest the valuable capital left from the savings back into the business structure (Waguespack and Cantor, 1996). Much of the success of many Japanese corporations over the past four or five decades has been was linked to the principles of JIT (Chhikara and Weiss, 1995).
Launched by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon.com website started in 1995 and is today considered as one of the most prominent retail website on the internet with a record turnover of US$ 14.87 billion in 2007. Jeff Bezos’s intention was to create an internet based company with the most dedicated product portfolio on the internet where customers could find anything they might want. Amazon’s success is based on technology, services and products (Jens et al., 2003).
Sethi, S, Yan, H, & Zhang, H. (2005) Inventory And Supply Chain Management With Forecast Updates New York, NY : Springer.
In addition, at the time, the economy was doing great, therefore, using the push system to stock pile inventory was acceptable. However, during the dot-com bust of the 2000’s, its sales and the demand for its products greatly decreased. Unfortunately, during this time, Cisco discovered that it possessed an abundance of inventory, and, wrote off more than $1 billion in inventory. Consequently, the company learned that acquiring inventory in anticipation of market demand, and not factoring in the human element of its business increased its risks of failure. Obviously, Cisco wanted to meet its customer’s demands, however, the problem was that it held more inventory than what the customers were demanding. Nevertheless, afterwards, it knew that it needed to adopt a new, more efficient approach to inventory. Therefore, Cisco had to reevaluate its supply chain system and seek input from IT, customers, suppliers, and finance. Further, by including input from these sources, Cisco adopted the more efficient pull system. The pull system, is dependent upon producing smaller repeating orders. Rather than the push system, which relies on larger less repeating orders. Effective inventory management, when administered correctly, can reduce and keep the inventory to a more desired level. In addition, Cisco discovered that inventory management can reduce inventory levels, enhance cash flow and reduce overall
Inventory management is a method through which a business handles tangible resources and materials to ensure availability of resources for use. It is a collection of interdisciplinary processes including a full circle of the demand forecasting, supply chain management, inventory control and reverse logistics. Inventory management is the optimization of inventories of manufactured goods, work in progress, and raw materials. According to Doucette (2001) inventory management can be challenging at times; however, the need for effective inventory management is largely seen more as a necessity than a mere trend when customer satisfaction and service have become a prime reason for a business to stand apart from its competition. For example, Wal-Mart’s inventory management is one of the biggest contributors to the success of the company; effective and efficient inventory management is of critical importance.
Local Inventory. Another approach is to have all inventory available at the store at all times. This allows for the centralization of cooking capacity. The main risk is obsolete inventory and the need for extra space.
According to Slack et. al. (2001) the best mechanism for running a business is to match level of demand (goods, services that customers need) with supply of capacity (recourses, labor force that the business inputs in the production process). They also define capacity as “the maximum level of value –added activity over a period of time”. Thus three main factors come into force here – the capacity of resources and labor force, the process operation which itself leads to satisfying customers through matching demand. It is very important to plan and coordinate all 3 factors very effectively because a difference in capacity and performance easily affects: costs, revenues, working capital, flexibility, quality of goods, speed of response and others.