Infographic: 5 Ways to Modernize and Optimize Supplier Inventory Management

Is your inventory management still an overwhelmingly manual process? Check out this infographic to take advantage of efficiency-boosting technologies and methods.

The working principles of lean manufacturing extend beyond the supply chain and into the management of inventory. Learn the connections between them, including how to improve your MRO practices.

Could your inventory be managed better than it is today?

Research from The MPI Group shows just over half of manufacturers are not optimizing inventories with best practices in lean manufacturing, such as vendor-managed inventory, material pull systems or just-in-time supplies. The research showed “a surprisingly high percentage of plants have ‘no capability’ to monitor and measure their operations, especially external logistics/distribution performance (18% of plants); in-plant material-handling performance (17%); and process-specific sustainability performance (16% of plants),” notes George Taninecz, vice president of research at MPI, in a blog post about the study.

Can better MRO management help? The white paper “10 Real-World Tips for Smarter Inventory Management” by Material Handling & Logistics puts the state of many current-day practices in context.

“In addition to inefficient production processes, poor inventory management practices put manufacturers at a global disadvantage. Market demands for ever greater product variety and shorter lead times cannot be met, profitably at least, with more and bigger warehouses,” the paper says.

Here are a few tips to improve and optimize your inventory management practices.