Effective Inventory Management
February 5-8, 2024, 10:00 – 11:30 am Central Time Each Day

Format: Live Online

Course Outline

Learn comprehensive analysis procedures and tools to maximize the productivity of your investment in stock inventory.

Session 1 – February 5, 2024, 10:00 – 11:30 am Central Time
Deciding What to Stock and Forecasting Future Demand of Products

• • Goal of effective inventory management
  • Determining what products to stock in each warehouse or location
  • Ranking products by activity, cost of goods sold and profitability
  • Ensuring that all inventory is profitable or leads to other profitable sales
  • Forecasting future demand based on past usage history
  • Forecasting new stock items
  • Determining how to stock products with sporadic usage activity
  • Identifying and correcting for unusual usage activity
  • How factors such as COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions can affect a forecast
  • Measuring the accuracy of your forecast
  • Collaborative information from customers and salespeople
  • Different types of seasonality and trends

Session 2 – February 6, 2024, 10:00 – 11:30 am Central Time
Determining When to Replenish Stock (Achieving Your Customer Service Goals)

• • Calculating accurate replenishment parameters
  • Minimum/Maximum quantities
  • Order points, reorder points and line points
  • The difference between average lead times and anticipated lead times
  • Dealing with lead times in a time of supply chain chaos
  • Different method for calculating safety stock quantities
  • Using safety stock to balance customer service with your investment in stock inventory
  • Determining how often to replenish inventory

Session 3 – February 7, 2024, 10:00 – 11:30 am Central Time
Determining How Much to Order When Replenishing a Product

• • Economic order quantities
  • Purchasing when presented with special opportunities
  • Determining vendor requirements and price breaks and preseason buy
  • Buying before a price increase
  • Buying when faced with vendor allocations and shortages in the market
  • Setting up a multi-location supply network (transfer or buy)

Session 4 – February 8, 2024, 10:00 – 11:30 am Central Time
Analyzing Your Inventory Investment and Vendor Relations

• • Fill rate, customer service level and stockouts
  • Vendor analysis
  • What inventory turnover really tells you
  • Turn/earn index and gross margin return on investment
  • Excess stock and dead inventory
  • Determining your ideal inventory investment and potential turnover
  • General questions to ask each vendor
  • Negotiating price and future pricing
  • Negotiating terms
  • Developing a Vendor Compliance Template
  • Resolving disputes and developing a “win-win” relationship