Inventory is your pantry; it is both your insurance policy against the unexpected as well as a measure of how far out of step you are with just-in-time optimum efficiency. The inventory story is complex because on one hand, you want that insurance policy, but on the other hand, you don’t want to pay too much for insurance you don’t need.
Oftentimes, what we have found is that some companies hoard inventory, and so we find aged, decrepit inventory forgotten in the back of a warehouse. This inventory is insurance against a bygone era, analogous to storing telegram slips in your desk—you know, ‘just in case’. By understanding these stories, we are rarely surprised when we walk into a warehouse and see it for ourselves.
Similarly, on the customer-facing side, a business needs to focus on what it is doing well. And we often try to be everything to everyone. But having 1000 SKUs when 90% of your sales are in 25 SKUs can be a problem. And your data will tell you that story.
Inventory KPIs
- Warehouse efficiency
- Inventory health
- Inventory turns
- SKU rationalisation
- A visual mapping (percentage graphic) of inventory ageing
Here’s an example of an inventory dashboard. We recommend going full-screen to get the full experience.