Inventory management

Portfolio strategy

The cornerstone of your effective inventory management

Many companies struggle with unclear goals in inventory management, which leads to inefficient warehousing processes and rising costs. Unclear inventory philosophies also make long-term planning and alignment of the supply chain strategy more difficult.

Rothbaum supports your company in defining clear inventory goals and developing a tailor-made strategy for your inventory management and optimization. We analyze your current situation and identify opportunities to optimize your inventory philosophy. Together we will develop strategies that will enable you to manage stock and WIP efficiently and increase your profitability.

Our service packages:

• Analyze your current business situation
• Revise inventory philosophy and supply chain policy (supply chain strategy)
• Weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of existing stock according to the developed stock philosophy
• Develop strategy e.g. single or multi-echelon (use of a digital twin); hub and spoke system etc.

Your benefit:

1. You develop a portfolio strategy based on your corporate strategy and further development.
2. They align inventory planning with the company’s objectives.
3. You analyze current weak points.
4. You realize quick wins.

As-is analysis

Uncover inconsistencies and potential for improvement in your company

If inventories are not effectively aligned with operational processes, inconsistencies, overstocks or bottlenecks arise, which affect profitability.

Our as-is analysis therefore examines your current inventories and operational processes in detail. Through a comprehensive assessment, we identify inconsistencies and potential for improvement. Based on these findings, we make clear recommendations for optimizing your inventories and support you in implementing a precise key performance indicator system for better control.

Our service packages:

• Analyze existing master data and its quality
• Analyze relevant business processes
• Analyze inventory and determine relevant key figures
• Develop initial recommendations for action

Your benefit:

1. You increase the quality of your master data.
2. You uncover optimization potential within your company processes.
3. You achieve initial results through our recommendations for action.

Inventory planning

Precise inventory planning for optimal cost savings and availability

Defining appropriate inventory levels is crucial to ensure the desired item availability while minimizing warehousing costs. However, many companies struggle to define the optimal inventory levels.

Our experts support you in precisely defining the optimum stock levels for your company. Through a thorough analysis of your requirements and processes, we define inventory levels that ensure a continuous supply while minimizing storage costs. In this way, we ensure optimum stock levels without compromising delivery capability.

Our service packages:

• Analyze and classify stocks
• Identify and minimize process drivers (high inventory management costs) and liquidity killers (high capital commitment costs)
• Determine demand (which product must be available when and in what quantity)
• Plan stock levels (how much stock covers demand)
• Plan procurement (how to order in order to obtain the desired requirements)
• Selecting suitable software for inventory planning

Your benefit:

1. You uncover potential for optimizing your inventory by structuring your materials.
2. You get an overview of the influence of each item on inventory management.
3. You plan your inventories in line with your inventory philosophy.

Risk management

Good risk management ensures a reliable supply chain.

Companies are exposed to risks in their product range and supplier portfolio that can jeopardize the stability of the supply chain. Unforeseeable events or inadequate risk assessments often lead to interruptions and financial losses.

Our risk management approach identifies potential risks in your product range and supplier portfolio. We conduct a thorough analysis, assess these risks and develop strategies to minimize them. Through this proactive approach, we protect your supply chain from unexpected disruptions and minimize any negative impact on your business.

Our service packages:

• Analyze suppliers
• Identify risk-driving articles
• Develop measures to minimize risks
• Select suitable software for ongoing risk analysis

Your benefit:

1. You uncover optimization potential in your supplier portfolio.
2. You carry out an ongoing risk analysis using suitable key figures, even after project completion
3. You stabilize your own supply chain.
4. You have the opportunity to react quickly and precisely to changes and disruptions in the supply chain.

Inventory controlling

Effective control for optimized warehousing and availability

The lack of effective inventory management often leads to insufficient control over stock levels, which in turn can lead to shortages or unnecessary overstocking. Companies need a better overview of their stock levels.

We help you to ensure long-term control over your stocks. By implementing effective control mechanisms and processes, we monitor and control stock levels precisely. This allows you to improve item availability, minimize the risks of over- or understocking and ensure efficient warehousing.

Our service packages:

• Select suitable software with an inventory controlling dashboard
• Define relevant inventory key figures

Your benefit:

1. You benefit from the ongoing analysis of optimization potential and validation of the existing strategy.
2. You will receive an overview of all relevant key figures for inventory management.
3. You optimize working capital.
4. You optimize the WIP stock.

Implementation & project management

Smooth implementation of your inventory management strategies

The successful implementation of inventory management strategies requires precise planning and effective tools. Many companies face the challenge of seamlessly implementing these strategies and introducing the appropriate tools.

Our team supports you with the introduction of your inventory management strategies and the implementation of suitable tools. We create detailed implementation plans and coordinate the process. We also offer support throughout the entire project cycle. In this way, we ensure that your inventory management initiatives are implemented successfully and achieve maximum efficiency.

Our service packages:

• Stakeholder and expectation management
• Project management for the optimization of inventory management
• Monitor and maintain project schedule
• Organize holistic change management and staff training
• Manage implementation from preparation through the test phase to regular operation
• Organize and coordinate all parties involved

Your benefit:

1. You have a contact person for all project levels.
2. You receive a transparent overview of the current status of the project.
3. You ensure that your staff are optimally qualified.
4. They ensure smooth and punctual implementation.
5. They ensure that all stages of implementation are supported operationally.

Was macht Bestandsmanagement?

Inventory management is responsible for the efficient management of goods and materials in a company. It optimizes stock levels to have the right amount of stock on hand at the right time and minimizes overstocks and shortages to increase profitability and keep the supply chain running smoothly.

Welche Bestandstypen gibt es?

• Finished goods inventory: Finished articles
• Semi-finished product stock: items that are on an intermediate production level
• WIP stock or work in progress: Raw materials, materials and products that are not currently recorded in the stock, but have already partially consumed labor and machine time on the key date of the stock entry
• Safety stocks: buffer to compensate for unexpectedly high demand or disruptive factors
• Pipeline stocks: Quantities already ordered but not yet physically available
• Available stock: usable for process planning (physically available or in the pipeline)
• Order trigger stock: Specifies the order time to cover the time until an order is received
• Cycle stocks: Product quantities that the inventory planner expects to consume.

Was sind Techniken zur Bestandsoptimierung?

The techniques are diverse and can be selected differently depending on the application scenario. Some examples are

• Just-in-time (JIT) production with the aim of delivering materials or products exactly when they are needed.
• Material requirements planning (MRP) with the aim of calculating material requirements based on production plans and customer orders.
• ABC/XYZ analysis with the aim of categorizing the range of articles in order to carry out targeted control and focusing per category.
• Optimize safety stocks with the aim of maintaining low inventories despite fluctuations and uncertainties in the supply chain (due to fluctuations in demand and supply)
• Supplier management with the aim of achieving close cooperation and clear communication with suppliers and coordinating deliveries precisely
• Introduction of RFID technology with the aim of precisely tracking goods movements in real time and avoiding bottlenecks
• Cross-docking with the aim of reducing storage times and costs
• Kanban system with the aim of controlling material flows in control loops autonomously and in an inventory-optimized manner:
• Use of advanced planning and forecasting systems with the aim of making more accurate predictions
• Conduct regular inventory reviews and analysis with the aim of identifying trends, making adjustments and ensuring that the inventory strategy always meets current requirements.