Inventory Management Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Supply Chain Game Changer™

The Supply Chain Detective™ and the Inventory Turnover Mystery!

The company I had just joined went to market declaring that it was a world leader in Distribution and Logistics. That was a clear contradiction to the Inventory Turnover Mystery I was about to discover.

As I settled into the job and started learning, and studying, the various Supply Chain metrics I was surprised when I looked at the Inventory Turnover performance of the company.

Looking at recent and historical Inventory performance I could see that turnover always stayed around 5-6 turns with little variation. Everyone seemed content with the situation and unmotivated to make it better.

For a company that declared their world leading capability I was astonished. 5-6 turns? True leadership in this areas would require double digit turns.

I needed to figure out what was truly going on and get this Inventory Turnover mystery solved. This was another case for the Supply Chain Detective™.

The Vaccine Distribution Supply Chain!

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As the Covid-19 Coronavirus has wreaked havoc with everyone’s lives all over the world there is great hope for a vaccine to allow us to get back to normal. While all of the social distancing measures are fine to help mitigate the spread of the virus only a vaccine holds the promise of really preventing it’s further spread.

Over 7.8 billion people, the entire global population, will need the Covid-19 vaccine, whether people choose to take it or even have access to it.

With such an indiscriminate virus at work how do you efficiently and quickly get a vaccine to everyone in every country around the world? It is an incredible task that won’t happen without careful and well thought out planning and execution of the Supply Chain.

What is the Vaccine Distribution Supply Chain?

4 Reasons the Apparel Industry Needs an Inventory Management System!

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!

Due to the intense competition and quick pace of the apparel industry, it’s no surprise that new apparel trends and styles appear with each passing season.

This essentially means that companies that operate in the apparel industry must be able to quickly change and update their latest apparel collections to stay relevant to their prospective customers and remain competitive.

And in order to achieve that, companies in the apparel industry need to have a dependable and efficient inventory management system in place to stay one step ahead of their competitors in a market that moves so swiftly and places such high demands on its participants.

Interest Rate Increases and Their Impacts on Supply Chain!

Supply Chain’s Moment of Truth Has Arrived!

The spectre of inflation reared its ugly head in 2022, just as the world was climbing out of the pandemic and looking forward to getting back to normal.

The interest rate increases by banks around the world, designed to reduce the rate of inflation, will continue to have impacts on Supply Chain across several dimensions.

Let’s discuss the various implications of these increase rate increases on Supply Chains everywhere.

Self-Storage Has Become Big Business! (Infographic)

Should You Choose Self Storage or a Portable Storage Container?

While immensely popular in the United States, self-storage solutions have remained pretty uncommon throughout Europe… that is, until now.

More and more entrepreneurs are recognising the untapped opportunity presented by the storage industry and as a result we are seeing a major increase in the availability of facilities in Europe.

Do You Want Inventory Turnover Breakthrough? Define and Manage The Levers!

World Class Inventory Turnover Infographic!

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Taking a holistic approach in order to achieve Inventory Turnover Breakthrough results meant that I needed to consider the End To End Supply Chain. As I thought through this approach there was really no other way if we were to achieve significant improvements to help the entire business in a short period of time.

In thinking about the End To End Supply Chain it was necessary to define all of the aspects that impact Inventory levels. In short I needed to be able to manage:

All of the levers that control the rate at which Inventory is brought in to the company
All of the levers that control the rate at which Inventory moves through the company
And all of the levers that control the rate at which Inventory moves out of the company

4 Best Practices for Reducing Medical Supply Waste!

How to Increase Transparency in the Medical Device Supply Chain!

The medical supply industry is the business of supplying the healthcare industry with items such as surgical instruments, bandages, general wound care, gloves, staff and patient apparel, and other medical equipment. However, due to the nature of work involved in healthcare facilities, a significant amount of medical supply waste is generally expected.

Medical supply waste is an issue that plagues healthcare facilities across the world. It’s not just a problem for the providers themselves, as it’s also becoming a problem for the environment.

Why is Supply Chain Such a Great Career Path?

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When I started my career the term “Supply Chain” had just been coined. As such it was many years before I actually heard of the term “Supply Chain Management”.

Regardless I pursued my interests and took on an increasingly diverse set of progressive jobs as time went on. Now as I look back on my career virtually everything I did falls under the banner of Supply Chain management.

Given the phenomenal opportunities that Supply Chain offers for personal and professional growth it is a career path which I highly recommend to anyone.

What is it about Supply Chain that makes it such an appealing career path?

Strategic National Stockpiles and Sourcing for the National Interest!

10 Vital Supply Chain Lessons from the Coronavirus Pandemic!

The decision by President Trump to tell 3M to stop shipping masks to Canada and Latin America is astonishing given that all of humanity is facing the same crisis.

Supply issues started with chronic shortages of toilet paper, hand sanitizer and food goods of all kinds. Store shelves have been emptied of the most basic items that we all take for granted.

And then it quickly evolved to shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for our Healthcare professionals. The very people whose tireless efforts and personal sacrifices on the front lines of this pandemic don’t even have the basic equipment they need to do their jobs while protecting themselves and their patients.

I never knew what an N95 mask was, nor did I know that there were actually national stockpiles (now proven to be insufficient) of these masks and ventilators and other PPE.

Trump’s action with 3M raises questions for any country about what their Strategic Stockpiles should be and whether future sourcing decisions and actions should be based on parochial nationalistic needs or magnanimous global needs.

Mastering Inventory Management!

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!

Ensuring your inventory management processes are streamlined and efficient is key to the success of your business operations. Having your customers receive their products on time should be one of your biggest priorities as an organisation.

In this article, we’ll be discussing how best to navigate the complexities and challenges of mastering inventory management and how to ensure timely and accurate order fulfilment.

Whether you’re a small business looking to learn the ropes, or you’re transitioning from a small warehouse to a larger facility, we’ll be highlighting the importance of effective inventory management.

Streamlining Distribution: Leveraging Self Storage Facilities!

3 Tips to Keep Self-Storage Clean and Organized!

In the ever-evolving world of business, inventory management has seen some tremendous shifts. Gone are the days when stockrooms piled high with boxes were a sign of prosperity. Today, efficiency is the name of the game.

Think about it – you’d probably marvel at a well-organized warehouse over a cluttered one, right? The modern approach is all about having just the right amount of stock: not too little that you miss out on sales, and not too much that capital gets tied up.

11 Inventory Management Best Practices! (Infographic)

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!

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Supply chain leaders are continuously looking for inventory management best practices, and the role of technology in the supply chain offers significant advantages.

Instead of relying on traditional, outdated inventory management best practices, supply chain leaders should follow these 11 steps to leverage technology and improve inventory management at last.

Creating the Culture to Break Barriers!

Digital Transformation of SCM and Change Management!

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In my experience when you embark on driving any kind of Game Changing Transformation you will most likely also need to break barriers and change behaviours if not the Culture. As the saying goes, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results”. So in order to get different results you may have to break through barriers and drive different behaviours from what are inherent in the current Culture.

Your organization is an ecosystem of policies, practices, processes and procedures that are the result of decisions, beliefs and behaviours. Over time much of this generally gets accepted as the way it’s always been done and is not open to challenge or to change. Therein sacred cows, whether real or perceived, can become obstacles to making the changes needed to derive different results from the status quo.

Having your Call to Action in Place, A Project Name and mandate, and a Holistic Approach are critical. But the “X” factor that you also need to have a strategy for is Cultural Change.

Achieve Breakthrough Results! Go From Worst to First!

Ground Rules for Creating a High Performance Organization (HPO)!

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We launched the Global Inventory Turnover Breakthrough project on April 1st. It was not a joke. Our challenge was to improve Inventory turnover from 6.3 turns to over 8.6 turns within the year. This was a level of achievement that the company had never before reached, let alone thinking about going from Worst to First.

But we had the Call to Action. Our Inventory turnover was perennially the worst in our industry. Our Inventory levels were consuming an enormous amount of cash as well as creating a lot of expense in carrying charges. And this had the effect of driving our Return on Invested Capital to very low, unattractive levels. Further there were ongoing complaints that even though we had a lot of inventory we never had all of the right material that was needed.

We had the motivation to turn this situation around. What we didn’t know is that we were about to make history and go from Worst to First!

What is Inventory Management?

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!

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Inventory makes the world go round. Stockpiles of raw materials, components, sub assemblies, finished goods, returned goods, and reclaimed and refurbished materials enable all aspects of industry to function and all aspects of the economic engine to run.

Trillions and trillions of dollars of inventories exist all over the world in every conceivable form and in every conceivable channel. Inventory levels will determine whether any company will survive or die. Too much inventory can result in cash flow problems that lead to bankruptcy. Too little inventory can result in an irretrievable loss of business that can lead to business failure.

Given its incredible importance we’d like to explore what may seem to be a simple, yet complicated and truly strategic, question.

What is Inventory Management?