Stock management and its responsibilities traditionally lie with the supply chain or logistics manager. Yet an isolated approach to inventory management is an essential part of the supply chain.
In fact, it is a shared responsibility because the influence of other functions helps determine levels and stock points. Good inventory management is only possible if purchasing, production, planning, R&D and sales work well together.
Often, inventory management is a difficult compromise because supply chain optimisation loses out when it comes to production costs or service levels towards the customer. Also, suppliers do not always cooperate because from their production or lead times, optimisation of your inventory is frustrated.
Continuous evaluation
Continuously evaluating your inventory is inevitable with the current increase in complexity and cost of your supply chain. Inventory plays a crucial role in your profitability, cash flow and risks of out-of-stock and redundant stock. This requires a delicate balance between internal and external interests that not infrequently conflict.
Finding the right balance between different interests and priorities is one of the most important tasks of inventory management. Increasing insight and control over your inventory contributes significantly to the value of your stock. Forms of Collaborative Planning and Service, real-time insight into your stock through the chain offers you a better chance of reacting to changes in a timely manner.
Director role
The inventory or supply manager will then have to act more as a director to ensure that the different functions within the organisation work more together. A supply chain manager will have to mediate more, formulate overarching interests and goals and achieve buy-in. A more optimal supply chain is then the result of his director role.
The supply chain manager will then not only need to have the ability to get his peers on the same page, he / she will also need to have sufficient insight and understanding of the complexities and challenges faced by his peers to do so. Whereas often the focus of supply chain managers is on in-depth knowledge of their supply chain, they will need to broaden to a more generalist knowledge. A supply chain manager should be able to 'pull the strings'.
Hans Groen - Supply chain and performance management consultant
