STUDENTS' CORNER - 76

Having seen Manufacturing inventory, let us briefly look into inventory management. If the manufacturing inventory has not been maintained continuously updated, it will result in manufacturing inventory chaos. Marketing manager would have accepted an order for a product for a considerable quantity based on the spreadsheet prepared and circulated periodically to the marketing and purchase dept with necessary details of the manufacturing components readily available for use. Supposing the inventory department has failed to update the spreadsheet and the marketing manager based on the un- updated sheet has accepted a big order to deliver goods within a few weeks. Later he comes to know from the inventory department that the order cannot be honoured since the required raw materials to the required quantity were not in stock, the marketing manager will be in trouble. He cannot let down the company nor can he disappoint a valued customer who has given him a big order.

Of course he has to talk to the suppliers of the raw materials and somehow get them. There is a possibility that one supplier did not have the required quantity of the raw materials; all the suppliers must be contacted and the required quantity of the raw materials must be obtained. He did get them but at a very high cost. Moreover, urgent transport also attracted considerable money. Finally, the marketing manager met the order and supplied the product to the customer. But out of this sale of the product, the company could not gain much as it could have if only the order had been placed and met with in a regular routine manner.  This manufacturing inventory confusion will not do good to the company and it must not be repeated.

Let us see in what ways the manufacturing inventory chaos can be avoided.

1. Real-Time Inventory Tracking

A growing company must be alert to the developments technology brings in to his business. Being blind to the technological development will push the company much back in competition with the rivals who exploit technological invention for faster promotion of the business.

It is said the technology has given what is called serialized barcoding. This facility gives all the details of the raw materials including work-in progress and finished goods. It gives information regarding quantity, location and status of the raw materials at each point of production. With the comprehensive details available instantly, the inventory is accurate, up-dated and error –free making it unquestionably reliable.

2. End-to-End traceability

This facility gives a complete view of the inventory when, as it happens sometimes, product recalls introduce an unexpected kind of inventory chaos. Technology as usual extends a very useful helping hand here also through End-to-End traceability. The company knows where the inventory came from and where it goes; therefore, the company can respond quickly and accurately as well to both orders.

This ability to respond to crisis quickly and accurately gives business a new and heightened level of efficiency which as a consequence leads to greater customer satisfaction. Customers feel reinforced in their confidence for the company. Another greater benefit of immediate consequence is it reduces inventory carrying costs.

3. Enhance Your Lot Management

Accurate and exact knowledge of inventory gives you the capacity to have the right goods in the right place at the right time which is in essence the most effective way of meeting the customers’ needs. Moreover, it will help the company avoid facing unnecessary crises of any kind such as realizing an entire batch of product or raw material is about to expire the day before you need it to fulfill an order. 

Use  of cloud inventory management technology lets you easily manage inventory lots from the time of receipt through production and on to shipping while also ensuring correct segmentation for quality and traceability purposes. Your system should enable you to split and merge your inventory while maintaining accurate product genealogy and traceability for future analysis.

In these ways, manufacturing inventory chaos can be effectively avoided in the interests of the business.