by Jon Schreibfeder | Jun 15, 2015 | Order Cycles
The order cycle (also commonly known as a review cycle) is the length of time (usually expressed in days) between the issuance of target replenishment orders to the primary supplier of a product. The target order represents your vendor’s purchase requirement...
by Jon Schreibfeder | May 15, 2015 | Order Cycles
In order to avoid stock outs, you must reorder products when you still have enough stock remaining in inventory to satisfy customer demand during the anticipated lead time. You also might want to keep some safety stock just in case you sell more than you forecast or...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Apr 15, 2015 | Forecasting, Replenishment Parameters
Over the last several months, we have been discussing barriers to achieving lean inventory management. That is, having inventory arriving “just in time” when it is needed by a customer or for use in an assembly or repair. Successful lean distribution is dependent on...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Mar 20, 2015 | Forecasting
Last month, we began a discussion of evaluating your inventory based on the number of day’s supply of inventory you have in stock. That is, how long your current inventory would fulfill anticipated customer demand. The major determinants of day’s supply of inventory...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Feb 15, 2015 | Forecasting, Stocking Decisions
“Lean” is a popular word in commerce today. There are a lot of books, articles and seminars that will tell you how to get the “fat” out of your business. Last week I read an article that advised every distributor and manufacturer to practice “just in time” (JIT)...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Jan 15, 2015 | General
Last week I received a phone call from the owner of a distribution company who said he was “desperate” to improve his inventory performance. In a lengthy phone conversation, we discussed his company’s primary inventory challenges: • The quantities of products in his...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Dec 15, 2014 | Warehousing
Last month we looked at ways to improve inventory accuracy and receiving activities. This month we are going to look at some best practices in picking. One of the most effective enhancements to your picking process is to implement a warehouse management system...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Nov 15, 2014 | General, Warehousing
Over the past several weeks, I have been working with two customers to improve the accuracy of their inventory. That is, to ensure that the on-hand quantities in their computer system agree with what is actually on the shelves in their warehouses. No matter how...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Oct 15, 2014 | General
Some months ago, I discussed some bad advice that was being promoted by some industry experts. Your response was overwhelming. Many of you described other situations in which you did not receive realistic solutions to your problems. But sometimes even bad advice can...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Sep 15, 2014 | Stocking Decisions
To avoid a possible stockout, a product should be ordered as soon as its replenishment position or net available quantity (i.e., On-Hand – Committed on Current Customer Orders + Current Replenishment Orders) falls down to its reorder point or minimum stock quantity....