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The Importance of Inventory Control

Decent Essays

Inventory is defined as any stored resource that is used to satisfy a current or future need (Render, Stair & Hanna, 2012). Many things come to make up inventory a few examples of what make up inventory are finished goods, raw materials, and work-in-progress. When it comes to a company’s most important and often times most expensive assets you discover inventory makes up as much as 50% of a company’s total invested capital (Render, Stair & Hanna, 2012). This paper will take a look at the importance of inventory control and some inventory control models and the importance they play in the success and or failure of a company. Inventory is important in the day to day operations of every major business and many non business …show more content…

Even though there are millions of products in our society “there are only two fundamental decisions that have you have to make when controlling inventory: How much to order and when to order” (Render, Stair & Hanna, 2012). There are several different types of modeling techniques used in day to day operations of companies. When taking a look at inventory control models there are objectives that need to be addressed “A major objective of all inventory models is to minimize inventory costs” (Render, Stair & Hanna, 2012). There are four areas that are significant when it comes to inventory costs: the cost of ordering, the cost of carrying or holding, the cost of stockout and the costs of the items. In the text we used for this class we learned a vast amount about the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ). “ EOQ is one the oldest and most commonly known inventory control techniques. Research on its use dates back to a 1915 publication by Ford W. Harris. This technique is still used by a large number of organizations today.” (Render, Stair & Hanna, 2012). To use the EOQ there are few assumptions that are made. “Demand is known and constant. Lead time is known and constant. Receipt of inventory is instantaneous. Quantity discounts are not possible. The only variable costs: set-up or placing an order, and holding or storing inventory over time.

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