Improving inventory management THE FIRST pi verequisite for im- proving your inventory manage- ment is to be an effective sales forecaster. Sales forecasts are a key determinant of inventory turnover and service performance — in- cluding fill rates {or stock-outs) and order delivery cycle time. In order to be able to prepare good sales forecasts, you need to stay close to your customers to monitor sales trends and to anti- cipate both seasonal fluctuations and the life cycle of new, mature and declining stock items. Sales forecasts also require that you track leading indicators that foreshadow changes in the general demand for your products. Finally, an effective sales forecasting process provides for measurement and feedback on forecasting accuracy. In other words, knowing how good a fore- caster you are will have a bearing on your inventory management. Managing customer service is the second prerequisite to improv- ed inventory management. If you establish customer service stand- ards, they must. be established in consultation with your customers so that their needs are reflected in fill rates and lead tivecs. Most customers expect consis- tent and reliable service. Establishing and monitoring these service standards can go a long way. towards customer relations and effective inventory manage- ment.- The distributor provides the essential link between the product supplier and the ultimate custom- -er. This means that ‘relationships with suppliers are just as impor- tant as relationships with custom- ers, Suppliers need the distributor to get their product to the end user. The distributor needs consistent and reliable service performance by the supplier to meet its own “customer service performance standards. Typically, suppliers want distributors who contract for Significant volumes and have a solid financial base. In many industries, suppliers provide annual volume discounts to encourage large orders and cash discounts to encourag: prompt payment. But from the distributor’s viewpoint, good in- ventory management often means minimizing order quantities and maximizing order frequency. This means taking into account sup- plier lead times and fill rates and customer demand patterns. Striking a balance between the scmetimes conflicting objectives of suppliers and distributors re- quires a close working relationship between the two. Open communication through personal contacts at. all levels fre- quently provides important inven- tory management benefits to the distributor, including tower mini- mum order quantities, higher promotional discounts and im- proved payment terms. . Moreover, a close working rela- tionship with major suppliers can pave the way for the return of ex- cess and slow-moving stock to in- ventory management. 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