How to Trim the Fat Out of Your Inventory

June 28, 2014

Here are seven ways manufacturers can reduce their inventory by partnering with service providers to streamline logistics and market planning via advanced delivery.

Dave Blanchard

By working with their procurement department and key suppliers to reduce inventory, manufacturers can make much better use of their entire supply chain, observes Will Bacon, advanced delivery program manager at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions.

Specifically, Bacon offers seven ways manufacturers can partner with service providers to reduce their inventory and streamline logistics and market planning via advanced delivery:

Prioritize the management of A-, B- and C-class items.
Track usage of parts.
Work with an advanced delivery program to make better use of assets.
Improve management of C-class items
Deliver forecasts to suppliers for the best possible outcome.
Consider special handling and packaging.
Analyze your Kanban system.

Learn more about Bacon's lessons in lean inventory management at Material Handling & Logistics, a companion site of IndustryWeek and part of Penton’s Manufacturing & Supply Chain Group.

About the Author

Dave Blanchard | Senior Director of Content

Focus: Supply Chain

Call: (941) 208-4370

Follow on Twitter @SupplyChainDave

During his career Dave Blanchard has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeek, EHS Today, Material Handling & Logistics, Logistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. He also serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2010), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its second edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.