Essentials of Inventory Management - Hardcover

Muller, Max

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0814416551 ISBN 13: 9780814416556

Publisher: Amacom Books, 2011

Synopsis

Inventory management is about more than counting what you ve got. It s about understanding business realities and making decisions that balance current demand with future needs. Author Max Muller teaches readers how to do this while keeping overhead and operating costs at a minimum by maximizing productivity in key areas--from physical stock issues to problem identification and resolution to technologies like RFID and other automated inventory mechanisms. Novice and veteran managers alike will gain ultra-practical tips and tricks on topics including forecasting and replenishment strategies, retail vs manufacturing inventories, materials requirements planning, formulas for calculating quantities and schedules, and supply chain risk management. Complete with detailed examples, handy tools, and a revised and expanded chapter analyzing Why Inventory Systems Fail and How to Fix Them, the second edition of Essentials of Inventory Management is perfect for both instructional and on-the-job use. Inventory management is complex, but it can be simplified. With up-to-date insights to maximize productivity, identify and solve issues quickly, forecast and replenish, incorporate automation, and much more, this nontechnical yet thorough guide will teach you how to manage inventory as a physical reality--and maximize its monetary value.

About this title

About the Author

MAX MULLER has been an executive for a wide range of product distributors. His seminars throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have drawn more than 100,000 attendees. His books include The Manager’s Guide to HR (978-0-8144-1076-9).

From the Back Cover

Inventory management involves a lot more than just counting what you’ve got. Now in a thoroughly updated and expanded second edition, Essentials of Inventory Management covers topics such as:

Forecasting and replenishment strategies • Differences between retail and manufacturing inventories • Materials requirements planning and just-in-time inventory systems • Simple formulas for calculating quantities and schedules • Management of inventory as a physical reality and a database object • Supply chain risk management.

Perfect for novice and veteran managers alike, this ultra-practical book provides you with the up-to-date and ready-to-use information you need to maximize productivity in key areas from physical control and layout to problem identification and resolution.

Complete with detailed examples, handy tools, and a revised and expanded chapter analyzing “Why Inventory Systems Fail and How to Fix Them,” the book familiarizes you with hard-core, timeless stock-keeping fundamentals that will allow you to keep your operation running smoothly and efficiently. Addressing all items both in their tangible form (“shelf count”) and intangible forms (“record count” and monetary worth), the book arms you with down-to-earth information on automated inventory identification systems, methods for analyzing and remedying dysfunctions, and the nature and scope of possible conflicts created by reducing “waste” within a supply chain.

Along with detailed explanations of multiple cycle counting methodologies and financial statement insights for the nonfinancial manager, the book provides and explains the basic formulas that will allow you to compute breakeven points, profit margins, markups and markdowns, as well as selling price and margin percentages. You’ll learn how to employ basic problem-solving techniques toward issue resolution, control the physical location of inventory in a more efficient manner, select the cycle counting inventory method that is right for you, and appreciate the fundamental differences between finished goods inventories in the retail/distribution sectors and raw materials and work-in-process inventories found in the manufacturing environment.

Getting past the theory and into the daily, practical techniques and strategies that will enable you to do a better job managing your inventory, Essentials of Inventory Management remains the go-to guide for all inventory management professionals.

From the Inside Flap

The most thorough introduction available regarding inventory management—now thoroughly updated and expanded—Essentials of Inventory Management gives you the answers you need to every question you’ll ever have about core inventory concepts, from a financial, physical, forecasting, and operational standpoint. Whether you’re a seasoned inventory control professional, new to stockroom/ warehouse management, or a small business owner who needs to keep on top of everything, this essential guide provides you with timeless stock-keeping fundamentals for optimizing efficiency and driving profits.

Perfect for both instructional and on-the-job use, this nontechnical yet thorough guide helps you understand business realities and to make decisions that balance current demand with future needs while keeping overhead and operating costs to a minimum. Focusing on daily-use inventory concepts and enabling you to analyze and fix dysfunctions when they occur, the book provides the tools and practical guidance you need to:

• Forecast inventory levels and undertake stock replenishment so you have the right items, in the right quantities, at the right time, and in the right place.

• Apply simple formulas to compute breakeven points, profit margins, markups and markdowns, as well as selling price and margin percentages.

• Use financial ratios to improve the operation of your business.

• Manage inventory as both a physical and database object.

• Set up effective stock locator systems.

• Implement efficient item placement theories.

• Consider the differences between finished-goods (retail) inventories and raw materials or work-in-process (manufacturing) inventories.

• Decide when to dispose of dead stock.

• Choose the right cycle counting method for your organization and use it to head off long-range problems.

• Understand materials requirements planning (MRP) and just-in-time (JIT) inventory systems.

• Guard against supply chain risks.

From physical stock issues to problem identification and resolution to technologies like RFID and other automated inventory mechanisms, the second edition of Essentials of Inventory Management is a no-nonsense, how-to-get-it-done-right guide every inventory manager will turn to again and again.

MAX MULLER is an attorney who has been chief executive officer or chief operating officer for numerous companies distributing products ranging from food to ATMs to safety equipment. An authorized General Industry Outreach Trainer for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor, his seminars throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have drawn more than 100,000 attendees. His books include The Manager’s Guide to HR as well as the first edition of Essentials of Inventory Management.

Edition details

• Publisher: Amacom Books
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0814416551
• ISBN 13: 9780814416556
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 257