Core Versus Speculative Inventory

The phenomenon of  “inventory creep”:  a constant increase in inventory without a corresponding increase in sales.  Management is often puzzled when this occurs, despite having implemented an expensive, state of the art inventory management system. The most common...

Scrutinze Anticipated Profitability

I received an email from a customer this week asking how to handle a salesperson’s request to stock a product.  This would be the only product this new customer would buy: Anticipated Annual Sales              $1,888 Annual Cost of Goods Sold           $1,411...

Analyze Your Customer Service… Hit or Miss?

Competition is greater today than ever before. It is critical that every business knows how well it is meeting its customers’ needs, identifying deficiencies, and putting into place improved practices and procedures. In previous newsletters we have discussed the...

Inventory Profitability Measurements

Last month we looked at how to calculate inventory turnover. Many companies view inventory turnover as their primary measurement of inventory performance. But should turnover be the only inventory metric analyzed on a regular basis? If a company enjoys high gross...

How Much Does Vendor Non-Performance Cost You?

In a quest to minimize your investment in inventory, the consistency of vendor lead times can have a major impact and deserves your examination. Consider the following situation. I was working with a customer a couple of months ago who had major problems with...

Problems with Turnover

In this column we will try to answer common questions faced by companies and organizations trying to achieve effective inventory management. If you would like to submit a question, please email it to [email protected]. If we use your question, you will...