Course Overview
This 2-day practical training programme provides participants with essential knowledge and practical techniques in inventory management and stock control, focusing on inventory planning, forecasting, replenishment, stock accuracy, cost control and reduction of excess and obsolete inventory to improve operational efficiency and business performance.
Course Objectives
- Understand the key principles, functions and objectives of inventory management and stock control.
- Apply appropriate techniques to determine optimum inventory levels, safety stock and reorder points.
- Identify the causes and impact of excess, obsolete, slow-moving and stock-out inventory.
- Improve stock accuracy, warehouse control and inventory visibility through effective processes.
- Develop practical strategies to reduce inventory costs while maintaining customer service and operational continuity.
Who Should Attend
- Operations Managers, Executives and Supervisors
- Supply Chain Managers and Executives
- Warehouse & Distribution Managers and Executives
- Inventory Control Personnel
- Materials Planning & Demand Planning Teams
- Procurement & Purchasing Personnel
- Production Planning & Manufacturing Personnel
- Logistics & Distribution Personnel
- Operations professionals involved in inventory-related decision-making
Course Content
Module 1: Fundamentals of Inventory Management
- Definition and objectives of inventory management
- Role of inventory in the supply chain
- Types of inventory:
- Raw materials
- Work-in-progress
- Finished goods
- MRO / spare parts
- Safety stock
- Inventory management vs stock control
- Inventory flow from supplier to customer
- Balancing inventory availability and inventory cost
- Impact of poor inventory management on business performance
Module 2: Inventory Costs & Working Capital
- Inventory holding costs
- Ordering and purchasing costs
- Stock-out costs
- Obsolescence and deterioration costs
- Warehouse and handling costs
- Inventory as working capital
- Cost of overstocking vs understocking
- Total inventory cost
- Strategies for inventory cost reduction
Module 3: Inventory Classification & ABC Analysis
- Purpose of inventory classification
- ABC Analysis
- A, B and C category management
- Pareto Principle
- Criticality-based inventory classification
- Combining value and criticality
- Setting different control policies for different inventory categories
Module 4: Demand Forecasting & Inventory Planning
- Understanding demand patterns
- Demand variability
- Historical demand analysis
- Forecasting fundamentals
- Seasonal and cyclical demand
- Forecast accuracy
- Impact of forecast errors on inventory
- Demand vs supply planning
- Collaboration between Sales, Operations, Procurement and Supply Chain
Module 5: Inventory Replenishment Strategies
- Reorder Point concept
- Minimum and maximum stock levels
- Safety stock
- Lead time
- Lead-time variability
- Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)
- Order frequency
- Lot sizing
- Fixed-order vs fixed-interval systems
- Continuous vs periodic review
Module 6: Effective Stock Control
- Stock control objectives
- Stock receiving process
- Put-away and storage
- Stock issuing
- Stock transfer
- Stock adjustment
- Returns management
- Quarantine and blocked stock
- Inventory transaction accuracy
- System stock vs physical stock
- Preventing stock discrepancies
DAY 2 – STOCK CONTROL, WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT & PERFORMANCE
Module 7: Inventory Accuracy & Cycle Counting
- Importance of inventory accuracy
- Causes of stock discrepancies
- Physical inventory counting
- Cycle counting methodology
- Frequency of counting
- ABC-based cycle counting
- Investigation of variances
- Root cause analysis
- Corrective and preventive actions
- ABC-based cycle counting
- Investigation of variances
- Root cause analysis
Module 8: Warehouse Stock Management
- Effective warehouse layout
- Location management
- Storage optimisation
- FIFO and FEFO principles
- Batch and expiry-date control
- Material identification and labelling
- Handling slow-moving and obsolete stock
- Space utilisation
- Stock accessibility
- Warehouse safety and housekeeping
Module 9: Managing Excess, Slow-Moving & Obsolete Inventory
- Identifying excess inventory
- Slow-moving inventory
- Dead/obsolete stock
- Root causes of excess inventory
- Overstocking vs service requirements
- Inventory ageing analysis
- Disposal and liquidation strategies
- Supplier return opportunities
- Cross-functional action plans
- Preventing recurrence
Module 10: Inventory Performance Measurement & KPIs
Key inventory performance indicators:
- Inventory Turnover
- Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO)
- Stock Accuracy
- Inventory Carrying Cost
- Stock-out Rate
- Service Level
- Order Fill Rate
- Forecast Accuracy
- Slow-Moving & Obsolete Inventory
- Excess Inventory
- Inventory Ageing
Module 11: Technology & Inventory Visibility
- Role of ERP systems in inventory management
- Inventory master data
- Barcode and RFID applications
- Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
- Real-time inventory visibility
- Data accuracy and system discipline
- Inventory dashboards
- Using data for inventory decisions
- Digitalisation of stock control processes
Module 12: Integrated Case Study & Action Planning
Participants work through a practical scenario involving:
- High inventory levels
- Stock-outs
- Poor inventory accuracy
- Slow-moving stock
- Long supplier lead times
- Demand fluctuations
