by Jon Schreibfeder | Jun 1, 2012 | Forecasting
When we founded Effective Inventory Management (EIM) in 1996, our goal was to help organizations throughout the world achieve the goal of effective inventory management – that is, to meet or exceed customers’ expectations of product availability while maximizing...
by Jon Schreibfeder | May 5, 2012 | Analysis
Over the past 12 months, I’ve seen numerous articles on liquidating unwanted dead stock and excess inventory. In fact, we published an article several months ago exploring the advantages of using Internet websites (such as www.tradeout.com, www.surplusbin.com,...
by Jon Schreibfeder | May 1, 2012 | General
Last month I discussed a “revolutionary” method of inventory management that sounded great in theory. The author promised spectacular results from abandoning age-old concepts and adapting this simple idea. Unfortunately this “simple idea”...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Apr 1, 2012 | General
I shouldn’t have my blood pressure taken after reading some of the widely distributed business periodicals. I just finished reading a newsletter where the author states that distributors should abandon forecasting future demand of products and merely continue to...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Mar 15, 2012 | Physical Inventory – Cycle Counting
Counting inventory in your warehouse is neither a pleasant nor an easy task. Over the last four months we’ve discussed various methods of counting your products in order to maintain accurate information about what’s in your warehouse and available for sale. Last...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Mar 1, 2012 | Physical Inventory – Cycle Counting
Without accurate stock level information in your computer, effective inventory management is impossible. No matter what sophisticated tools you have in your inventory management system, if the computer thinks you have 100 pieces of an item, and there are really only...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Feb 1, 2012 | Purchasing
About this time last year I worked with two large distributors that allow their individual branches to completely control the replenishment of the products they stock. Each location’s management, buyers, and/or salespeople could replenish stock whenever they...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Dec 1, 2011 | Physical Inventory – Cycle Counting
In order to receive all of the benefits from a good inventory management system, stock balances must be at least 97% accurate, every day of the year. This means that the actual available quantity of every item in the warehouse is no more than 3% greater or less than...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Oct 1, 2011 | Replenishment Parameters
For many organizations, 50% or more of their stocked inventory items have sporadic usage – that is, they are not sold or used on a regular basis. In previous articles, we have discussed how typical demand forecast techniques that predict the quantity of the product...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Jun 3, 2011 | Vendor Managed Inventory
This article is the third and final article on achieving success with vendor-managed inventory (VMI). In the first article we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of having a vendor manage replenishment of the products it supplies to a customer. Last month we...
