Inventory Planning Blog

Inventory planning is more than simply having the right amount of stock on the shelf. With proper planning, the whole business is positively affected: from the planning to the bottom line. For companies with large inventories, 10,000+ items, manual planning and replenishment techniques like spreadsheets can be very time-consuming and are riddled with errors. Automated inventory planning and optimization solutions save time, money and computing resources, which contribute to “Green” IT. Web-based planning solutions can be deployed either on-premise or in a SaaS model, adding another layer of “Green” IT.

How “Green” is your IT? IBM partnered with Aberdeen Research to develop a web-based tool which in less than 10 minutes, will:

• Compare your company's approach to common Green IT challenges with industry best practices

• Receive best practice recommendations that you can put to immediate use

• Receive ROI estimate based on your company's performance based on upgrading to a best in class approach

• Access additional resources based on your specific needs

Download IBM’s Green IT Assessment Tool

This web-based diagnostic tool is designed specifically to help you to assess how your Green IT initiatives compare with best-in-class implementations. Take this quick 15-minute survey along one (or more if you like) of three distinct business pressure-driven paths to see how you compare against leading companies. At the end, you will receive a "customized report that allows you to:"

• Assesses your Green IT performance against Best-in-Class performers.

• Develop an actionable Green IT roadmap for the enterprise.

• Estimate ROI on a recommended Green IT investment.

• Prioritize your investments into Green IT capabilities and technologies.

Green is a word that is getting a lot of attention lately and can be difficult to identify, especially in an inventory planning environment.  However, there are many areas that can be effected by eliminating manual processes and implementing automated inventory planning software programs.  Here are just a few examples:

Eliminate Waste with Better Planning

• time wasted by doing manual planning

• computer processing time and energy

• excess inventory

• capital spent on too much inventory

• printing supplies and paper for reports

• lost sales due to poor inventory mix

Improving Efficiencies Right Away

• optimal replenishments

• stock transfers utilize existing inventory

• automation removes complexities

• alerts warn of impending stock-outs

• time reduced dramatically

• planning groups and scheduled planning

• improve time utilization

Lowering Tangible & Intangible Costs

• inventory investment

• warehouse space

• energy costs due to faster efficient planning

• expedited shipping costs from vendors

• expedited shipping costs to customers

• taxes on inventory

  
  
  

Reducing waste and improving productivity will help you contribute to a greener planet.