Category: Inventory Management

Inventory Management and Turnover Performance

A Formula For Achieving Game Changing Results!

World Class Inventory Turnover Breakthrough Elements! (Infographic)
SC Viral The Pandemic Diaries
GET EBOOK

Many projects often fade away over time and fall well short of their original goals.  People face many very real challenges in leading these projects.  So how do you avoid having your project become another program-of-the-month and disappear from view?  Is there a formula?

As we have discussed in other blog posts we have tackled Inventory Turnover several times, amongst many other challenges.  We have doubled turnover and achieved industry leading results in very short periods of time.

Your challenge may be trying to improve Inventory performance or trying  to create a transformational improvement in some other area.  We have found that there is a formula and a set of key principles that are critical to driving the game changing results you are looking for.

Continue reading “A Formula For Achieving Game Changing Results!”

4 Challenges in Starting and Sustaining a SIOP (S&OP) Business Process!

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!
Get Our Inventory ManagementEBOOK HERE

A Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning (SIOP) business process is an essential element for running a successful business.  SIOP will allow you to improve your forecasting, capacity and resource planning, cash flow, and inventory levels.

Yet there are many challenges with getting a proper, functioning SIOP process in place.  If the benefits are so clear why is it so difficult to get SIOP going and then to sustain it?

Continue reading “4 Challenges in Starting and Sustaining a SIOP (S&OP) Business Process!”

Confessions of a High Priced Expediter!

Part Shortages? What is your Supply Line Strategy?

The CEO called.  “We’re out of Parts … I need your help!”  And so it began.  These are my confessions as a high priced expediter.

Every Supply Chain is going to have supply disruption and raw material shortages at some point.  So if you work in Supply Chain you are going to get involved in some fashion.  Maybe you are calling suppliers, qualifying new,  replacement parts, or maybe you are arranging for fast delivery of the shortages.

I have been involved directly or indirectly in resolving part shortages throughout my career.  Even as an Executive I still got pulled in to these situations and asked to personally get them fixed.   Once an Expediter, always an Expediter.

Here are my Confessions!

Continue reading “Confessions of a High Priced Expediter!”

The Go-To List of Ways to Improve Inventory Management!

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!
Get Our Inventory ManagementEBOOK HERE

Today’s warehouse managers need to improve inventory management strategies. Shareholders want to increase profitability. Customers wish for better customer service. Amazon wants to take over the world.

This is nothing new, but as the world has evolved, the ability to improve inventory management has evolved in stride.

Supply chain leaders should follow these key strategies for ways to improve inventory planning services and inventory management. 

Continue reading “The Go-To List of Ways to Improve Inventory Management!”

The New Car Bait and Switch! A True Story!

Customers Do Not Care About Your Problems!
Get Our Inventory ManagementEBOOK HERE

The “Check Engine” light appeared on my vehicle recently. As the vehicle was over 11 years old and showing increasingly serious signs of breaking down, a trip to the mechanic confirmed that it would cost more to fix the vehicle then it was worth. So my wife and I decided we needed to get a new car.

We quickly researched vehicles and narrowed down the model and brand that we were interested in. After a visit to the local dealership, a test drive and some negotiating we bought a new car.

Within 24 hours of getting our new car our happiness turned to bitterness. The car they gave us was not the vehicle we had bought.

It seemed like we were the victims of a car dealership bait and switch!

Continue reading “The New Car Bait and Switch! A True Story!”

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!

A Formula For Achieving Game Changing Results!
Get Our Inventory ManagementEBOOK HERE

Inventory is often the single largest asset in most companies across any industry. It consumes a lot of cash, impacts return on investment and profitability, enables or impedes growth and customer satisfaction, and requires a tremendous amount of resource to manage it. Inventory Management is critical.

Yet a lot of companies big and small, well known and startups, struggle to manage Inventory effectively.

In this “Featuring” series article we are putting the spotlight on Inventory Management. We are presenting our Top 10 Inventory Management articles with techniques and approaches which will have something for everyone to learn from and apply in their own situation.

Continue reading “Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!”

Double Inventory Turnover In 9 months!

World Class Inventory Turnover Infographic!

“We are a Supply Chain Services Company,” I was told.

“If we are truly a Supply Chain Services Company, then why is our Inventory Turnover only at 7?”,  I asked.

I had just joined the company and in studying their financial performance it stood out to me that if we were truly a Supply Chain Services company then having only 7 Inventory turns was extremely uninspiring.

We needed to be dramatically better at managing Inventory to convince ourselves, and our customers, that we were a trusted and leading Supply Chain Services partner.  Could we double inventory turnover?

Continue reading “Double Inventory Turnover In 9 months!”

What Exactly Is Supply Chain Management? 10 Different Definitions!

What Exactly Is Procurement? And What is Purchasing?
Get OUR Ebook EBOOKS HERE

When I began my  career there was no such thing as “Supply Chain Management“.  Supply Chain was not a title to be found anywhere on any organization chart.

Yet all of the functions that we now associate with Supply Chain have been around for a very long time:  Planning, Inventory Management, Logistics, Procurement and Purchasing, Warehousing and many more.

So what exactly is the definition of “Supply Chain Management”?  Interestingly there are many views on how to define Supply Chain.

Continue reading “What Exactly Is Supply Chain Management? 10 Different Definitions!”

Effective Inventory Management Keeps Your Business Thriving!

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!

Effective inventory management is one of the most important aspects of running a successful business. It can be the difference between having the right products in stock when your customers need them and being caught short.

Good inventory management means having visibility into your inventory levels at all times, so you can make sure you have enough products on hand to meet customer demand. It also means having efficient systems and processes in place to track inventory levels, so you can quickly and easily reorder products when necessary.

Continue reading “Effective Inventory Management Keeps Your Business Thriving!”

The Exciting Use of Drones for Inventory Control!

Love at First Flight! Flying and Crashing My First Drone! (Video)

In my experience companies always had a need for Inventory Control and an annual inventory count during which all operations were shut down for at least 2-3 days. Even then there would a period during which records were being reconciled before operations could resume normal function.

On top of the annual inventory count there were ongoing manual cycle counts throughout the entire year. Dozens of people and departments were involved in this necessary, but extremely expensive, inventory controls requirement.

With the introduction of commercial drones for inventory management the potential for revolutionary improvements is very exciting.

Continue reading “The Exciting Use of Drones for Inventory Control!”

A Basic Guide to ECommerce Inventory Management!

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!

In this digital age, one of the best ways to earn money is to sell unique products online with the help of an eCommerce platform, such as Amazon, Alibaba, etc. However, to have a profitable online selling business, it’s crucial to understand the importance of inventory management in eCommerce. 

An effective inventory management system is one of the most crucial elements of running a sustainable eCommerce business. It helps businesses arrange their products systematically and ensure all products are released on time to increase fulfillment rate and promote positive customer satisfaction.

Continue reading “A Basic Guide to ECommerce Inventory Management!”

World Class Inventory Turnover Infographic!

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!
Get Our Inventory ManagementEBOOK HERE

Achieving World Class Inventory turnover performance is an aspiration, a requirement and a challenge for many companies.  We’ve written several blogs on this subject to share our experiences in achieving truly game changing results in inventory management.

Attacking just a single element of inventory has, in our experience and observation, proven to be an insufficient approach to making significant, sustainable changes.  The entire ecosystem of processes, variables, and stakeholders requires taking a holistic approach enlisting a variety of tools and techniques (eg. lean inventory management) to drive game changing inventory performance.

Given the breadth, depth and complexity of the Inventory Turnover management ecosystem it is not surprising that there is much to be addressed in this area.  We’ve captured much of this in our article Featuring our Top 10 Inventory Management articles. 

In this blog article we’ve captured much of this content in a single Infographic

Continue reading “World Class Inventory Turnover Infographic!”

Our 2020 Top 10 List Part 2!

As we come to the end of our 4th year here at Supply Chain Game Changer we have realized some exciting milestones.

With over 4 million views across the Website, LinkedIn and Twitter our content has continued to be highly recognized. The site is viewed as a key influencer platform in the arenas of Supply Chain, Logistics, Procurement and Management. It is a must read place source for Professionals, Students and Experts alike. We have now published over 600 articles since our inception along with 3 Ebooks.

Continuing in our tradition of years past we present here our 2020 Top 10 List Part 2. As the globe continues to struggle with the Coronavirus pandemic we’ve written many several articles with respect to the pandemic and its repercussions and the future.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Here’s our list of our Top 10 articles of 2020, for the second half of the year:

Continue reading “Our 2020 Top 10 List Part 2!”

Top 5 Industries That Benefit Most From Inventory Scales!

Demystifying Weighing Systems!

Inventory management isn’t exactly the most glamorous topic—nobody wakes up dreaming about weighing loads of goods or streamlining stock control. But, if you’ve ever experienced the chaos of running out of stock or accidentally ordering ten times more than needed (hello, paper towel mountain of 2020), you’ll know just how vital inventory management is. 

Enter inventory scales. These unsung heroes of the business world offer precision, efficiency, and a whole lot of sanity to industries juggling countless items, parts, or products. Sure, they don’t come with glitter or fireworks, but their impact on business operations is something worth applauding. 

Here, we’ll explore the top five industries that rely on inventory scales to function their best.

Whether you’re a business owner or someone who simply enjoys the fascinating quirks of industry tech (it’s a niche, sure, but worth celebrating), this post will weigh in on why inventory scales are game-changers for so many sectors.

Continue reading “Top 5 Industries That Benefit Most From Inventory Scales!”

What is Inventory Shrinkage?

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!
Get Our Inventory ManagementEBOOK HERE

There are many terms for inventory shrinkage: warehouse shrinkage, product shrinkage, loss of product. They all amount to the same thing — your merchandise is missing from the warehouse shelves.

For businesses that sell physical things, some amount of shrinkage is unavoidable. At point of sale, stores can experience retail shrinkage from breakage and shoplifting. ECommerce businesses experience inventory shrinkage when items are damaged on warehouse shelves or disappear during shipping or receiving.

It’s important to understand your shrinkage rate because it affects your bottom line. Here’s everything you need to know to calculate and prevent inventory shrinkage.

Continue reading “What is Inventory Shrinkage?”