Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Understanding Inventory Control


If you provide your customers with a product, you want that product to be available to them when they are looking to purchase it and you want enough on hand to be able to service all of your Kelowna and Okanagan customers – new and existing.

The ideal is to have enough on hand but not so much that it is costing you to store a large amount of excess inventory.

Inventory is money sitting on your shelves. Typically, inventory has a large dollar value. It exists so that you can give your customers the best service possible by having what you need when you need it.

It is extremely important to keep track of the inventory you have on hand, plan for your future needs and ensure that what you have on the shelves matches what is recorded in your inventory system.

Inventory tracking is the following of inventory from the purchase stage through the usage or sale stage.

Inventory planning is the process of monitoring and recording of materials, supplies, & finished goods to ensure the right amount of each item is in stock when needed. Planning determines the optimal inventory levels to meet customer needs while still minimizing carrying costs.

Inventory reconciliation is comparing the count numbers to the numbers on record after a count has been done and reconciling any differences that arise.

Are you looking after your customers while still maintaining control of your inventory?

Tracy Wright, CMA
Kelowna British Columbia Canada