Foreword

In today’s dynamic business climate, companies are looking for simple ways to reduce waste and improve profitability. Going through many business cycles or phases faster than ever, new technology initiatives must be affordable, easy to implement, and have a high, measurable rate of return.

Most small businesses use an ERP system from companies like SAP, NetSuite and Microsoft. But they fall short of providing inventory optimization and rationalization. Achieving a well-balanced, efficient inventory is no small task as supply chain complexity is ever increasing. How do you get there? How do you know when you have arrived? Understanding and using some basic financial and accounting methods with an advanced inventory optimization solution will help get you there. It will also help keep you there.

Inventory planning uses a wide range of variables and metrics, which generally include:

The recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is a rude awakening of the potential fragility of the banking system. Banks are a critical supply chain that both individuals and companies rely on heavily. This failure was followed by Signature bank which failed, several others did as well. Then there are serious problems which arose at First Republic Bank and Credit Suisse.

It is a new year and still old issues abound as well as new ones. In these challenging times, balancing near term inventory resilience with longer-term objectives is an on-going process. You read a lot about reducing costs, buying less, increasing productivity, improving cash flow and more. It is important to keep inventory objectives balanced and in perspective. Yes, times are starting to be more stable in certain areas, but you need to improve your competitive advantage.

​What COVID-19 has taught us is that change is constant, unforeseeable, and sometimes very disruptive.We need to take a moment to consider where we are and where we need to go. The future is coming fast. Change for change’s sake and the status quo are no longer relevant. In fact, these attitudes are detrimental. Smart innovativethinking and planning are the new norm.