SCM供应链 9-InventDecision-07.ppt

Prepared by WANG Jun qwqw  Introduction Inventories are stockpiles of raw materials, supplies, components, work in process, and finished goods that appear at numerous points throughout a firm’s production and logistics channel, such as warehouses, yards, shop floors, transportation equipment, and on retail store shelves. Inventory can cost between 20 and 40 percent of their value per year. The annual investment in inventory by manufactures, retailers, and wholesalers is about 12 percent of the GDP of U.S. Three major subjects will be viewed in this chapter: Manage inventories as individual items located at single stocking points. Manage inventories in the aggregate. Manage inventories among multiple locations and multiple echelons. Appraisal of Inventories Although inventory holding has been roundly criticized as unnecessary and wasteful in recent years, a firm might want inventories at some level in its operations and would want to keep them to a minimum. Arguments for inventories Improve customer service Reduce costs: indirectly reduce operating costs Encourage economies of production Foster economies in purchasing and transportation Utilize forward buying Reduce variability of production and transportation Avoid unplanned and unanticipated shocks, such as labor strikes, natural disasters, surges in demand and delays in supplies. Arguments against inventories Inventories are considered wasteful, which absorb capital but not contribute any direct value. Inventories can mask quality problems. Using inventories promotes an insular attitude about the management of the supply channel as a whole. With inventories, it is often possible to isolate one stage of the channel from another. Types of Inventories Inventories can be categorized in five distinct forms Inventories may be in the pipeline, which are in transit between echelons of the supply channel. Inventories may be held for speculation. Raw materials: copper,