DEFINITIONS

Inventory-A physical resource that a firm holds in stock with the intent of selling it or transforming it into a more valuable state.

Inventory System- A set of policies and controls that monitors levels of inventory and determines what levels should be maintained, when stock should be replenished, and how large orders should be

Def. - A physical resource that a firm holds in stock with the intent of selling it or transforming it into a more valuable state. Raw Materials Works-in-Process Finished Goods Maintenance, Repair and Operating (MRO) Equipment

OPPOSING VIEWS OF INVENTORY

Why We Want to Hold Inventories? Why We Not Want to Hold Inventories?

WHY WE WANT TO HOLD INVENTORIES?

Customer Service Ordering Cost (economies of buying) Setup Cost Labour & Equipment Utilization Transportation Cost Payment to suppliers (quantity discounts)

SCOPE OF INVENTORY CONTROL

Formation of relevant policies Designing a working organization Structure Determining Economic Order Quantity Ascertaining Safety Stock Determining lead time Minimisation of material handling & storage costs

OBJECTIVES OF INVENTORY CONTROL

Avoiding idling of men & machines Making possible minimum investment Minimization of material handling Risk minimization

FUNCTIONS OF INVENTORY CONTROL

Effective use of financial resources Economies in Purchasing Keep up with production Least material loses Least cost of production Lesser amount and rate of deterioration Keeping prompt delivery to customers Eliminating redundant inventory Records for future reference

WHY WE NOT WANT TO HOLD INVENTORIES?

Opportunity Cost Storage and Handling Cost Taxes, Insurance & Shrinkage( Pilferage, Obsolescence, deterioration)

ZERO INVENTORY?

Reducing amounts of raw materials and purchased parts and subassemblies by having suppliers deliver them directly.

Reducing the amount of works-in process by using just-in-time production. Reducing the amount of finished goods by shipping to markets as soon as possible.

WHY TO MAINTAIN INVENTORIES?

Improve customer service Economies of purchasing Economies of production Transportation savings Hedge against future Unplanned shocks (labor strikes, natural disasters, surges in demand, etc.)

TWO FORMS OF DEMAND

Dependent
Demand

for items used to produce final

products Tires stored at a Goodyear plant are an example of a dependent demand item

Independent
Demand

for items used by external customers Cars, appliances, computers are examples of independent demand inventory

INVENTORY COSTS
Procurement costs Carrying costs Out-of-stock costs

OBJECTIVES OF INVENTORY CONTROL

1) Maximize the level of customer service by avoiding understocking. 2) Promote efficiency in production and purchasing by minimizing the cost of providing an adequate level of customer service.

INVENTORY CONTROL SYSTEMS

Continuous system (fixed-order-quantity)

constant

amount ordered when inventory declines to predetermined level placed for variable amount after fixed passage of time

Periodic system (fixed-time-period)

order

ABC ANALYSIS
ABC Classification (Pareto Principle) A Items: very tight control, complete and accurate records, frequent review B Items: less tightly controlled, good records, regular review C Items: simplest controls possible, minimal records, large inventories, periodic review and reorder

Class A
15 % of units 70 80 % of value
5

Class B
30

% of units 15 % of value

Class C
50

60 % of units 5 10 % of value

RAW MATERIAL INVENTORY

Raw materials are inventory items that are used in the manufacturer's conversion process to produce components, subassemblies, or finished products. These inventory items may be commodities or extracted materials that the firm or its subsidiary has produced or extracted.

They also may be objects or elements that the firm has purchased from outside the organization.
Even if the item is partially assembled or is considered a finished good to the supplier, the purchaser may classify it as a raw material if his or her firm had no input into its production.

MRO INVENTORIES
Maintenance, repair, and operating supplies, or MRO goods, are items that are used to support and maintain the production process and its infrastructure. These goods are usually consumed as a result of the production process but are not directly a part of the finished product. Examples of MRO goods include oils, lubricants, coolants, janitorial supplies, uniforms, gloves, packing material, tools, nuts, bolts, screws, shim stock, and key stock. Even office supplies such as staples, pens and pencils, copier paper, and toner are considered part of MRO goods inventory.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS INVENTORY
Any item that has a parent but is not a raw material is considered to be work-inprocess

FINISHED GOOD INVENTORY

A finished good is a completed part that is ready for a customer order.

Therefore, finished goods inventory is the stock of completed products.

These goods have been inspected and have passed final inspection requirements so that they can be transferred out of work-in-process and into finished goods inventory. From this point, finished goods can be sold directly to their final user, sold to retailers, sold to wholesalers, sent to distribution centers, or held in anticipation of a customer order.

Another perspective on inventory is to classify it by how it is created?

TRANSIT INVENTORIES/ PIPELINE

Transit inventories result from the need to transport items or material from one location to another, and from the fact that there is some transportation time involved in getting from one location to another . Inventory moving from point to point in the materials flow system Supplier Plant workstation1 workstation2. Distribution centre retailer customer

BUFFER STOCK/SAFETY STOCK

Inventory is sometimes used to protect against the uncertainties of supply and demand, as well as unpredictable events such as poor delivery reliability or poor quality of a supplier's products. These inventory cushions are often referred to as safety stock. Safety stock or buffer inventory is any amount held on hand that is over and above that currently needed to meet demand.

Generally, the higher the level of buffer inventory, the better the firm's customer service.
This occurs because the firm suffers fewer "stock-outs" (when a customer's order cannot be immediately filled from existing inventory) and has less need to backorder the item, make the customer wait until the next order cycle, or even worse, cause the customer to leave empty-handed to find another supplier. Obviously, the better the customer service the greater the likelihood of customer satisfaction.

ANTICIPATION INVENTORY
Oftentimes, firms will purchase and hold inventory that is in excess of their current need in anticipation of a possible future event. Such events may include a price increase, a seasonal increase in demand, or even an impending labor strike. This tactic is commonly used by retailers, who routinely build up inventory months before the demand for their products will be unusually high (i.e., at Halloween, Christmas, or the back-to-school season). For manufacturers, anticipation inventory allows them to build up inventory when demand is low (also keeping workers busy during slack times) so that when demand picks up the increased inventory will be slowly depleted and the firm does not have to react by increasing production time (along with the subsequent increase in hiring, training, and other associated labor costs). Therefore, the firm has avoided both excessive overtime due to increased demand and hiring costs due to increased demand. It also has avoided layoff costs associated with production cut-backs, or worse, the idling or shutting down of facilities. This process is sometimes called "smoothing" because it smoothes the peaks and valleys in demand, allowing the firm to maintain a constant level of output and a stable workforce.

CYCLE INVENTORY/LOT SIZE INV.

Cycle inventory results from ordering in batches or lot sizes rather than ordering material strictly as needed. At the beginning of the interval, the cycle inventory is at its maximum, or Q. At the end of the interval ,just before a new lot arrives, cycle inventory drops to its minimum,or 0.

Average cycle inventory=(Q+0)/2 =Q/2