Inventory management principles and practices

Business Management -- Inventory Control Issues

APICS Opportunities for Students:

The APICS Global Supply Chain Conference seems to offer several good opportunities for students, including various case study sessions such as B2. World-Class Small and Midsized Business Supply Chains; B4. Skilled Cross-Culture Communication; and B5. Supply Chain Risk Evaluation and Management (SCREAM). The first would be a good introduction to the crucial issue of upgrading existing supply chain processes to compete in the modern global market; the second deals with another important aspect of business in the global era that can be overlooked in favor of more technical concerns; and the third introduces risk awareness and mitigation strategies that are natural requirements of any supply chain-dependent business process, particularly in the global age. Similarly, the Basics of Operations Management Conference offers C4. Managing Inventories in a Changing Economy, which would also be beneficial for students studying business management.

Inventory Management Services:

According to the invetorymanagement.com website, the organization provides the consulting services for the following areas: bar coding, asset tracking, inventory distribution software, warehouse inventory management, and inventory management software. More specifically, the company provides consulting in several dozen different areas of business management, including a wide range of topics within the areas of inventory management, supply chain management, data management, and numerous business management and supply chain-related software applications and training areas.

McCadum Cheese Plant Production Process:

The McCadum Cheese Plant is part of a third-generation family-owned business whose need for raw material is supported by its network of nine separate farms located in Upstate New York and Vermont. The cheese plant is dedicated to agricultural product production processes utilizing mostly raw materials produced on its own farms. Generally, the individual farms each maintain several hundred heads of cattle capable of producing sufficient raw materials (such as fresh milk) to sustain McCadum Cheese Plant operations.

Apparent McCadum Cheese Plant Inventory Needs:

In general, production that is dependent on the availability of raw materials from its farm network. It would not be practical or efficient to ensure business continuity primarily through large inventory because of the perishable nature of the product and of its component ingredients. The sheer volumes at issue would also be a prohibitive concern even apart from perishability issue; for example, the plant uses 35,000 pounds of fresh milk in each production run.