“To critically evaluate the importance of inventory management systems of Asda, UK”
Abstract
The topic has been chosen for research is to critically evaluate the inventory management systems of retail industry in UK. This industry is continuously growing up with pleasure of customers even the fluctuation in customer choices. Moreover, this sector has been hugely impacted from 2008 to 2010 by the economic crisis, when customer did not have enough money to spend. As a result some retail businesses have incurred a loss and shut down their operation. Though some of the retailer took the challenge and continued their business to see the future success. But inaccuracy of stock count leads to poor availability in store level stock. Moreover employees’ inadequate level of skills and improper management clue to poor control of inventory management. As a result decrease the customer satisfactions therefore fall in revenues and ultimately collapse in profitability level. (Lussier, 2012)
In addition increases the costs due to out of date and damage lots of inventory, which are also leading to high shrinkage level for the retailer. It is possible to overcome these barriers and enhance the company’s reputation, increase customer satisfactions including high level of profitability by practising good inventory management system in place (Warren, Reeve, & Duchac, 2013).
Literature Review:
Inventory management plays a significant role in the retail industry for succession the
Lowering the inventory would likely result in decreasing the currently unacceptable levels of customer service by removing that estimation buffer. Thus, without the reengineering of the production processes, the attempts to change the inventory levels may fail.
Second, the classification in inventory management is still inaccurate. That results in some problems such as: the severe lack of some products which are in growing demand (1 inch valve series 230), the redundancy making storage expenses go up and the stagnancy in storage area (to products like gear driven rotary and monitor controller)
All retailers have a common goal in mind, and that is to make a profit. Companies earn a profit by first connecting customers with products, which can lead to an exchange of product for money. Without the ability to connect customers with products, no money exchange is possible and no profit is earned. It is, therefore, immensely important for retailers to have the right products, in the right quantities, at the right locations, and at the right time. Inventory Management Systems provide companies like L.L.Bean with the necessary information to achieve just that. L.L.Bean’s advanced inventory management system (IMS) connects customers with products, irrespective of the location of the product or the customer (Hoffsess, 2015).
Dell has been quite a leader when it comes to manage its inventory and supply chain issues but it faced some challenges too while growing. In this case study two aspects of two Dell have been discussed which Dell faced while growing. The first challenge was Inventory Management while continuously meeting the demands and requirements of its customers and second challenge was how to maintain its customer relation.
Monitoring item levels and creating a report based on customer needs, by upgrading this allows the company to keep track of low inventory which would be accessed by the customers via their smart phones. Efficient and confident inventory control is a major factor that would help increate revenue and sustain it.
Second, the classification in inventory management is still inaccurate. That results in some problems such as: the severe lack of some products which are in growing demand (1 inch valve series 230), the redundancy making storage expenses go up and the stagnancy in storage area (to products like gear driven rotary and monitor controller)
The inventory management is very key to a company. The reason for this is because when your
By taking a Just in time approach to inventory and product handling, companies can often cut costs significantly. Inventory costs contribute heavily to the company expenses, especially in manufacturing organizations. By minimizing the amount of inventory, you save space, free up cash resources, and reduce the waste that comes from obsolescence.
As the inventory the organization store is merely enough to meet with individual order and there is a minimal stock is kept for re-working faulty product, so the organization have to minimize the error in production to the lowest. Also, with the limited stock, if any major strike or natural disaster will makes organization unable to serve their customer. Then, if a customer suddenly come with a large quantity of unexpected order, the organization might not able to serve them on time (“What is Just”,2016). Thus, it could lower down the ability of the organization to compete with their
Inventory management seems intuitive at first. Avoid stock outs by making sure you have enough inventory and you should be fine. After a few minutes into our discussion, it was evident that I had grossly underestimated the science behind it. Figuring out how much inventory to order, when to order it, and how to maintain it was something that never crossed my mind. Having “too much” inventory was a problem I didn’t think could hurt any company. Throughout our discussions, I quickly learned that inventory management could be a course of its own. Companies need to strategically prevent inventory disasters, but also discover how their management of inventory can be a competitive advantage.
“Inventory is one of the most expensive and important assets to many companies, representing as much as 50% of total invested capital. Managers have long recognized that good inventory control is crucial” (Render et al, 2011). Therefore, it is really no surprise that companies place such a high importance on inventory control. An analysis of the planning and forecasting process, as well as the uses of inventory control will certainly verify the significance of inventory control in the business environment. In addition, by utilizing several inventory methods: economic order
For any business to achieve financial success, its inventory has to be properly managed. Through this the business gets to evaluate its needs for a specific good to fill its inventory with enough stock. The business therefore improves its sales outcome or profitability without spending too much in terms of financial and physical resources. To optimize inventory levels, businesses must assess their inventory. Inventory assessment involves evaluating assets and financial resources to ascertain if they can sustain the acquisition of goods and supplies through availability of funds. Businesses must also engage in inventory forecasting in order to optimize inventory levels (Harrison, 1997).
During a conversion at my family dinner my sister mentioned her small clothing store and she also discussed how frustrating it is to manually track and record all of the high demanding items in her store. My sister would like an easier solution for her problem. She decided she wanted an automated system, but she told us that she has a very small budget. So she asked my mother and I for any advice we can give for her store.
Inventories are those asset items which are either used for the production of goods to be sold or used directly for the purpose of sales. It is a major portion of current assets and thus there is need to do careful investment in the same. Different kind of companies has different forms of inventory. For example; a company that is into direct selling of readymade goods will have only merchandise inventory in their accounts while the manufacturing companies will have inventory in three forms i.e. raw materials, work in progress and the final or finished product. The inventory at different stages plays different roles like the raw materials are that inventory which is used for the production of goods for selling purpose. Work in progress is that inventory which is in production, i.e. goods in production for sale and the final or finished product is that inventory which is ready for sale .
PROJECT REPORT INVENTORY CONTROL & MANAGEMENT at AMTEK AUTO LIMITED Name: Shubham Chugh Roll No.: 1321001517 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY CENTRE FOR DISTANCE LEARNING GHAZIABAD Table of Contents: Chapter 1: About the organisation 1.1 Introduction 10 1.2 Vision & mission 10 1.3 Core values 10 1.4 Amtek group milestones 10 1.5 Global Structure 11 1.6 Products 11 1.7 Major highlights of Amtek group 12 1.8 Customers 13 CHAPTER 2 : Introduction to problem 2.1 Introduction to problem 16 2.2 Objective of project 16 CHAPTER 3: Introduction to inventory management 3.1 Introduction to inventory management 18 3.2 Nature of inventory 18 3.3 Purpose of holding inventory 19 3.4 Objective of inventory management 19 3.5 Valuation of inventory 20 3.6 Benefits of holding inventory 21 3.7 Inventory control system 22 3.7.1 Inventory control 22 3.7.2 Re-order point 24s 3.7.3 Safety stock 24 3.8 Selective inventory control 24 3.8.1 ABC analysis 24 CHAPTER 4: Methodology 4.1 Methodology 27 4.2 Nature of research 27 4.3 Sampling plan 27 4.4 Data collection & data source 27 4.5 Analysis pattern 28 4.6 Flow chart 30 CHAPTER 5: Define Phase 5.1 Define 32 5.1.1 Preparation of project charter 32 5.1.2 Team formation 33 5.1.3 Kick-off project 33 CHAPTER 6: Measure & Analyze