Operations Management: Inventory Management

The course on Inventory Management is part of the Operations Management Training Program which includes a number of eight sections also presented as individual courses for your convenience. All companies need to acquire and maintain inventory to produce their goods or to provide their services. These supplies enable the company to function.

Inventory can be made up of raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods. Inventory levels have to be managed carefully. A company must always have the right levels of inventory at the right time.

If a company has too much inventory, it ends up paying extra storage costs. But if the company has too little inventory, it may not be able to meet customer orders. Finding the balance between meeting customer demand and minimizing costs is crucial.

Monitoring and managing inventory are major concerns for operations management. Inventory managers must know how much their supplies are worth. And they need to know how much it costs them to buy and store those supplies.