10 Types of Inventory & How to Manage Them

Companies typically maintain sophisticated inventory management systems capable of tracking real-time inventory levels. The inventory management process is the portion of supply chain management that handles the recording, tracking, ordering and selling of products. Each business’s inventory management process differs, but most include the receiving, stocking, selling, fulfilling and reordering of goods. Just-in-time (JIT) inventory is a management method that reduces the amount of inventory you have on hand by only ordering and delivering products at the exact time you need them. To do so, you’ll need to closely track inventory levels and work closely with suppliers.

Consider a fashion retailer such as Zara, which operates on a seasonal schedule. Because of the fast fashion nature of turnover, Zara, like other fashion retailers is under pressure to sell inventory rapidly. Zara’s merchandise is an example of inventory in the finished product stage. On the other hand, the fabric and other production materials are considered a raw material form of inventory. Six Sigma is an inventory management methodology that focuses on reducing variations and defects in your inventory management process.

1. You should make it a point to count your inventory physically and regularly to ensure it matches the number you have predicted.
2. That’s opposed to safety stock hedging against unforeseen fluctuation.
3. Two of the most common ecommerce-specific inventory models are dropshipping inventory and consignment inventory.
4. For the candle company, a finished good is a candle that’s ready to be stocked on store shelves.
5. It is essential to understand the type of inventory you have, so you can make better decisions while choosing the best inventory system to calculate the cost of goods sold (COGS).

MRO inventory is strictly for your consumption and is not available for customers to purchase. Moreover, the complexity of dealing with your inventory grows dramatically with every additional product or product variant you add to your catalog. Hence, it is worthwhile to understand fundamental questions related to inventory and inventory management — exactly what this guide covers. Also known as Maintenance, Repair, and Operating Supplies, MRO inventory is all about the small details. It is inventory that is required to assemble and sell the finished product but is not built into the product itself.

Just-in-Time Management (JIT)

You should prioritize the inventory management of 20% of your profit-generating stock and understand its life cycle. You can segment your inventory to understand which products you need to order in more quantity and more frequently. Furthermore, you can identify which products are more critical in best-selling and slow-moving products.

Regardless of the type of inventory control you practice, you’ll need an inventory system. There are several types of inventory management systems, but inventory software is the clear choice for growing businesses. Sortly is a modern mobile inventory solution that allows you to track inventory, supplies, materials, and assets in one easy app. Inventory management software is a supply chain management tool that helps you track inventory levels, forecast demand and place orders based on current levels. The best inventory management software will depend on your specific business needs but is something everyone should consider using since it helps increase efficiencies and reduce costs.

Because calculating raw materials inventory not only gives you an accurate picture of your current assets. That’s a ratio which represents how quickly raw inventory is used and replaced. It’s an indicator of how accurate the current demand forecasting and resulting purchasing strategies are. When we talk about raw materials, it is essential to understand that raw materials used by a manufacturing company can either be sourced from a supplier or be a by-product of a process. In our cookie manufacturing company, the raw materials will be mostly sourced from various suppliers.

Best Inventory POS Systems

Larger businesses will use specialized enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. The largest corporations use highly customized software as a service (SaaS) applications. In retail, manufacturing, food services, and other inventory-intensive sectors, a company’s inputs and finished products are the core of its business.

Flowspace’s platform provides real-time inventory tracking, so brands can always see what products they have in stock and where they are located. This level of real-time inventory visibility helps avoid stockouts and ensure that they can https://www.wave-accounting.net/ fulfill orders quickly and accurately. Flowspace’s platform can send alerts when inventory count is low, so brands can reorder products before they run out. Finished goods inventory is the inventory that is ready to be sold to customers.

Inventory Write-Down in E-commerce

MRO inventory refers to all the inventory needed for maintenance, repair, and operation. It’s all the materials, equipment, and supplies used for manufacturing that don’t end up as part of the finished best free accounting software for businesses good. And the answer depends on your business and the tools you use to drive your inventory management strategy. The key is being consistent and having a foundational understanding of your inventory.

Merchandise Inventory in E-commerce

Generally, a lower DSI is preferred as it indicates a shorter duration to clear off the inventory, though the average DSI varies from one industry to another. Mostly used by food service businesses, Toast can generate inventory reports and highlight low-performing items. It can also digitally map your inventory layout to match your business’s kitchen. This refers to inventory that’s in between two locations in the supply chain. An example of pipeline inventory is a T-shirt that’s in transit between a factory and a distribution center, or a candle that’s in between a distribution center and a retailer. When choosing a 3PL, businesses should consider the 3PL’s experience, reputation, and services offered.

Furthermore, brands that satisfy their customers shall eventually emerge as the industry leader. You risk losing your customers if you don’t have a real-time inventory record. It’s also referred to as book inventory and is the least amount of stock a business needs to complete any process without waiting. Furthermore, companies mostly use theoretical inventory in the food industry and production. Businesses can measure theoretical inventory by using the actual vs. theoretical formula.

Introduction to Inventory Control

This maximizes your business’s financial efficiency, but the formula does not account for factors like seasonality. It also doesn’t factor in safety stock, so it may result in excess inventory that can double as safety stock. Ideally, you want to keep enough inventory on hand to meet customer demand. At the same time, it’s important to avoid holding too much inventory, which can lead to high storage costs and negatively impact your cash flow. Inventory is often called stock in retail businesses such as supermarkets, pharmacies, and clothing stores.

The benefit to the supplier is that their product is promoted by the customer and readily accessible to end users. The benefit to the customer is that they do not expend capital until it becomes profitable to them. This means they only purchase it when the end user purchases it from them or until they consume the inventory for their operations. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.

Regardless of the frequency of inventory audits, you should ensure audits are conducted regularly and whether the figure matches your system. Transit stock is inventory that keeps moving between manufacturers, distribution centers, and warehouses. Transit inventory can even take up to weeks to move between two facilities. This template is perfect for repair shops, offices, artists’ studios, and manufacturing plants. This system obviously requires buyers openly sharing a lot of data with vendors so the latter can accurately forecast.

Like raw materials, work in progress inventory only applies to businesses that manufacture products. The important part is being familiar with your process and balance sheet. Then you draw meaningful conclusions from your finished product numbers. Any good inventory software allows manufacturers to convert sales orders to manufacture orders automatically. Along with being able to create purchase orders for raw materials that are out of stock and work orders for repair and maintenance. MRO stands for Maintenance Repairing and Operating supplies, this type of inventory is mostly relevant for manufacturing industries.

Inventory is the sum of all items intended to be sold by your business. Methods to value the inventory include last-in, first-out, first-in, first-out, and the weighted average method. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. Evan Tarver is a writer and tech entrepreneur who led his last company to a successful acquisition in 2022. He now runs Great Robot, leveraging his in-depth knowledge of AI to help people get smarter about AI for business.