Inventory and Supply Chain Management

Executive challenges and best practices

Small- and midsize companies often don’t know what they don’t know. Survey respondents do recognize that they face a range of issues related to inventory management. Many small businesses can’t track inventory, even manually.

Situations arise where expenses are incurred or sales are lost due to inadequate inventory control practices that culminate in spoilage, lost warehouse goods, or out-of-stock positions. Frustration over out-of-stock or back-ordered items is high on the list of customer service complaints.

Here are a few signs that poor inventory management might be limiting manufacturing or distribution business:

• Frequent and time-consuming IT support is required for system updates and integration.
• Reporting is limited and not in real-time.
• An inability to customize the system to your business model.
• No supply chain forecasting or budgeting capabilities.