Inventory Management For Competitive Advantage

Smart, strategic inventory management delivers competitive advantage, yet Inventory Turn trends suggest that little seems to change. Sustainable improvement through increasing control of systems and processes generates savings that can, in turn, be invested in growth initiatives. Inventory is not something that just concerns planning, production and finance. By working to better understand and control their inventory-related processes, everyone can drive improvements that will harness inventory’s potential to become a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Unlike other guides to inventory management, this book is not only aimed at planners or inventory managers, but details the impact, both direct and indirect, that all functions have on inventory. It is rich in practical tools that can be clearly implemented, including a detailed purchasing strategy and guide to error management. It is also rich in best-practice cases that further show how to implement these methodologies in a real-world context. This book is essential reading for any manager or executive looking to boost their organisation’s competitive advantage, as well as students of inventory management, production and operations management.

Inventory Management is more than a passive reporting capability. It is arguably one of the most underutilized and overlooked strategic advantages in a supply chain. Best of all it is a competitive advantage that nearly any company can attain. When company leaders dig deep into their inventory management it is not uncommon for them to find that their inventory team often consists of a siloed and powerless reporting entity that focuses on financial reporting. As a result they find that an inventory paradigm shift is necessary although difficult to prioritize due to the vast uncertainty of how to accomplish such a task. What should the inventory strategy be to make such a paradigm shift? As outlined in over two dozen concepts to follow, it is a process of continuous improvement across all inventory that influences and drives true best in class advantages. The best suggestion is to match these strategies (and others) with the biggest gaps found in the company and then build on the maturity of the area. Often these areas that are the least mature will be easiest to address and return the greatest benefit. The success of the company relies on the development and growth of its people and processes. Diversity is more than race or religion diversity also comes in age, passion, and work experience don't overlook talent in any form or fashion or title. Take a leap and enable, empower, and enrich by providing mentorship and opportunity through these outlined concepts and ideas. Remember with a little invested time, risk, and strategy great rewards can result. The greatest of leaders are remembered for what they enabled more so than for what they did.

Critical to most organizations in any sector of the economy is the control of material flow from suppliers to customers. The strategic importance of this area, often referred to as Supply Chain Management, is today fully recognized by top management as well as academia. The total investment in inventories is enormous, and the control of capital tied up in raw material, work-in-progress, and finished goods offers, in general, a huge potential for improvement. Scientific methods for production and inventory control can give a significant competitive advantage. Inventory Control deals with different approaches and models that can be used when developing inventory management systems and practices. Today, most companies can realize large savings through improved production and inventory management and one purpose of this book is to describe and explain scientific techniques and hence support and simplify implementation in practice. Another purpose is that the book should be useful as a textbook in various university Courses. Inventory Control satisfies both of these purposes because it covers the very recent advances in inventory theory. F

Business-to-consumer (B2C) and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce transactions, including social commerce, are rapidly expanding, although e-commerce is still small when compared to traditional business transactions. As the familiarity of making purchases using smart devices continues to expand, many global and regional investors hope to target the ASEAN region to tap into the rising digital market in this region. The Handbook of Research on Innovation and Development of E-Commerce and E-Business in ASEAN is an essential reference source that discusses economics, marketing strategies, and mobile payment systems, as well as digital marketplaces, communication technologies, and social technologies utilized for business purposes. Featuring research on topics such as business culture, mobile technology, and consumer satisfaction, this book is ideally designed for policymakers, financial managers, business professionals, academicians, students, and researchers.

David P. Zimmerman applies 36 years of industrial experience as the basis for providing better and faster customer service. He clearly explains why current paradigms don't work effectively, and proposes better methods that reduce costs and improve customer service.

Little has been written on the links between Inventory and Supply Chain Management, yet it is a critical component of all Supply Chains. This book explores and explains these critical links, and is intended for: . Professional managers in all supply chain roles and job positions. . Academics such as lecturers or students studying business topics like procurement, logistics, distribution, and the supply chain. . Students of professional institutes such as the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. The style of the book is direct, with little jargon. It covers all the basics, as well as providing detailed and wider discussions to encourage thought. Practical application remains a central theme, illustrated by the extensive use of case studies, application checklists and visual and graphic illustrations.

Best Practice in Inventory Management 3E offers a simple, entirely jargon-free and yet comprehensive introduction to key aspects of inventory management. Good management of inventory enables companies to improve their customer service, cash flow and profitability. This text outlines the basic techniques, how and where to apply them, and provides advice to ensure they work to provide the desired effect in practice. With an unrivalled balance between qualitative and quantitative aspects of inventory control, experienced consultant Tony Wild portrays the many ways in which stock management is more nuanced than simple "number crunching" and mathematical modelling. This long-awaited new edition has been substantially and thoroughly updated. The product of decades of experience and expertise in the field, Best Practice in Inventory Management 3E provides students and professionals, even those with no prior experience in the area, an unbiased and honest picture of what it takes to effectively manage stocks in a firm.

Strategic MRO: A Roadmap for Transforming Assets into Competitive Advantage combines the concepts of enterprise asset management and the associated maintenance, repair, and operating/overhaul (MRO) materials supply chain. It introduces the breakthrough Demand Supply Compression (DSC) methodology, which guides an organization's thinking and doing as it seeks performance improvement. Like Lean, DSC provides a practical path forward by changing a mind frame and the way in which work is performed. Focused on achieving a future perfect and guided by meaningful principles, organizations will learn to apply compression strategies to drive out waste, time, and non-value adding activities from their strategic MRO practices. Strategic MRO utilizes case studies from a wide variety of businesses to demonstrate strategic MRO practices and implementation — It can be successfully applied to any business where maximizing return on assets is critical to success. This is much more than a maintenance management or supply chain book because it encompasses both asset management and supply chain practices — Strategic MRO will transform your assets into a strategic advantage.

The goal of Inventory Management will be to explain the dynamics of inventory management's principles, concepts, and techniques as they relate to the entire supply chain (customer demand, distribution, and product transformation processes). The interrelationships of all functions will be defined. The book concentrates on understanding the many ramifications of inventory management. In today's competitive business environment, inventory management has proven to be most critical, and this book is directed to the management of inventory to assist in better understanding the body of knowledge required to operate in a competitive world. Almost all functions such as sales, engineering, and accounting have an impact and are impacted by inventory management. The book will assist in the training of students as well as APICS CPIM (Certified in Production and Inventory Management) candidates. As such it will not only be a textbook, but also a desk reference for those employees responsible for controlling inventories, and thereby assist in reducing cost, improving customer service, and maximizing capacity. Each chapter concludes with a case study and suggested solution. The case studies tell the story of a growing company, Smith Industries, and the related inventory management problems it had to address. The problems addressed relate to the subject matter of the chapter.