by Jon Schreibfeder | Jul 1, 2012 | Replenishment Parameters
Many companies today have multiple stores or branches, each stocking a number of products. When planning replenishment of products to smaller locations, buyers must decide whether to buy products directly from a supplier or to transfer quantities from a central...
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 | 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
Cycle counting isn’t just a clever workaround—it’s a smarter, more agile way to keep your inventory legit, all year long. Instead of playing hide‑and‑seek with stock accuracy during an annual freeze, cycle counts let you chip away at accuracy daily—especially where...
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...
by Jon Schreibfeder | Jun 2, 2011 | Vendor Managed Inventory
Last month, we began our discussion of vendor-managed inventory (VMI) programs listing possible advantages and disadvantages these programs present for both customers and suppliers. We also presented some advice for determining which products should be included in a...
