I presented on “Inventory Accuracy Remains Core to Success” at ASQ (American Society of Quality) Palomar tonight, and we had great questions and discussions on why inventory is important for success. In essence, it boils down to 3 C’s – cost, cash and customer service. What could be more important for a business?
Unfortunately, inventory can often be overlooked in its importance because it is such a bedrock topic – and left to the people who focus on inventory. However, any executive who wants to grow the business, provide exceptional service to customers and accelerate cash flow better pay attention. I’m often-times called into companies to help them strengthen inventory-related processes. It is at the core – once inventory and related processes begin flowing, all else falls into line. Why not pay extra attention this week? There is no downside.
One tip to implement this week:
So, how can we pay attention to inventory? If you are an executive, the great news is that you can have a significant impact with a simple question – ASK your employees about inventory. Do they realize how important their role is on cost, cash and customer service? If not, tell them. There are countless numbers of positions in every manufacturer and distributor that relates to inventory or is impacted by inventory, and so you don’t have to go far!
If you are an employee, bring up inventory to a peer, manager or executive. Find an example of how having the right inventory in stock helped satisfy a customer or how being able to rely on where the computer said the inventory would be located was helpful. Simply raise awareness of the importance of inventory. In the vast majority of my clients, I’ve found that a few of these simple questions can go a LONG way to getting people interested in inventory. Results will follow!
May 12, 2016