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Inventory Management Inventory costs money so you want it to work for you. It needs to meet your customers demand while minimising the amount of capital tied up in stock. This is especially important for stock which will deteriorate in storage. Inventory optimisation is not just about having the stock available, it is about: Meeting demand; forecasting and estimating your demand Ensuring that the stock available is in date; many of our clients have stock which can not be held indefinitely, so they want to minimise the time the products spend in the warehouse Location in the warehouse; if you are picking and packing products continuously then you need to position the stock in relation to packing station Supply; understanding lead times and knowing when to order and how much to order We can help with all these aspects of inventory management. By taking your past data we can estimate your current demand, and forecast future demand patterns. If you have just won a new contract we can even help you incorporate this into your new demand model. Once you have a demand model, you can use this to plan your supply ordering and if necessary incorporate the condition of time in the warehouse. This way you are not stuck with stock which is unsellable. Once these models have been created, they have to be made practical and relevant to the operation. So we create heuristics which are easy to use rules. We test these rules using your past data and then help you implement them. Simple rules like first in first out minimises the time in the warehouse, prioritising the workload to meet customer requirements, warehouse organisation to minimise time packing and maximise your output. When was the last time you examined your inventory polices? If it is more than a year ago, you need to revisit them. Your business cycle will have changed, your customers' requirements will have changed, and you need to change your inventory procedures in line with these changes. We recommend a yearly review to ensure that your operation is working efficiently. Very few companies will have the in-house skills available so require an independent review. All of this is done through our bespoke consultancy package. Please contact us for more information.

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