Supply Chain Inventory Optimization.
Supply chain inventory optimization is the process of maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of a company’s inventory management practices across its entire supply chain. It involves identifying and addressing bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the flow of goods, from the point of production or procurement to the point of sale.
There are several key strategies that companies can use to optimize their supply chain inventory:
- Forecast demand: Accurate forecasting of demand for products can help companies determine how much inventory to keep on hand and when to order more.
- Use just-in-time (JIT) inventory management: JIT inventory management involves keeping minimal inventory on hand and using a pull-based system to replenish inventory as needed. This can help to minimize costs associated with excess or obsolete inventory.
- Implement a cross-docking system: Cross-docking involves transferring goods from inbound vehicles to outbound vehicles without storing them in a warehouse. This can reduce inventory levels and improve efficiency.
- Use a consignment inventory model: In a consignment inventory model, suppliers own the inventory until it is sold to a customer. This can help to reduce inventory costs and improve cash flow.
- Utilize advanced technologies: Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and the internet of things (IoT) can help to improve forecasting accuracy, optimize inventory levels, and increase efficiency across the supply chain.
Overall, supply chain inventory optimization is an important aspect of effective inventory management, and companies can use a variety of strategies and technologies to achieve it.
Inventory Quotes
- “Why not make the work easier and more interesting so that people do not have to sweat? The Toyota style is not to create results by working hard. It is a system that says there is no limit to people’s creativity. People don’t go to Toyota to ‘work’ they go there to ‘think’.” ~ Taiichi Ohno, father of the Toyota Production System (TPS)
- “Converting a classic batch-and-queue production system to continuous flow with effective pull by the customer will double labor productivity all the way through the system (for direct, managerial, and technical workers, from raw materials to delivered product) while cutting production throughput times by 90 percent and reducing inventories in the system by 90 percent as well.” ~James P. Womack
- “All we are doing is looking at the time line, from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point when we collect the cash. And we are reducing the time line by reducing the non-value adding wastes.” ~ Taiichi Ohno
Inventory Information
- Bullwhip Effect and Beer Game.
- Dilbert Lean Six Sigma.
- Dominos Supply Chain.
- Exclusive interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
- Grainger Supply Chain.
- Harley Davidson Factory Tour.
- Improving Inventory Availability in a Volatile Supply Chain
- Just in Time by Toyota: The Smartest Production System in The World.
- Saturday Morning Meeting: Amazon vs. Walmart.
- Skechers distribution center.
- Supply Chain and Strategy Key Concepts
- Supply Chain Resources by Topic & Supplier