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A Study On Inventory Of Manufacturing And Retailing Organizations

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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the Study
The problem associated with most manufacturing firm is the ability to be effective and sustain growth over time which is associated with the ability to minimize control cost, facilitate purchasing economies, eliminates duplication in ordering, better utilization of available stock, providing a check against the loss of materials, facilitation of cost accounting activities, being able to carry out effective cost comparison among others (Anichebe & Agu 2013).

Inventories are vital to the successful functioning of manufacturing and retailing organizations. They may consist of raw materials, work-in-progress, spare parts/consumables, and finished goods. It is not necessary that an …show more content…

Inventory represents an important decision variable at all stages of product manufacturing, distribution and sales, in addition to being a major portion of total current assets of many organizations. Inventory often represents as much as 40% of total capital of industrial organizations (Moore, Lee & Taylor, 2003). It may represent 33% of company assets and as much as 90% of working capital, (Sawaya & Giauque, 2006).

Since inventory constitutes a major segment of total investment, it is crucial that good inventory management be practiced to ensure organizational growth and profitability. According to Temeng Eshun & Essey, 2010) organizations have ignored the potential savings from proper inventory management, treating inventory as a necessary evil and not as an asset requiring management. As a result, many inventory systems are based on arbitrary rules. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for some organizations to have more funds invested in inventory than necessary and still not be able to meet customer demands because of poor distribution of investment among inventory items (Temeng et al 2010). In addition to this, Inventory is the stock of any item or resource used in an organization. An inventory system is the set of policies and controls that monitors levels of inventory and determines what levels should be maintained, when stock should be replenished, and how large orders should be, (Chase &

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