Warehouses and Inventory Management are critical for the effective management of procurement and the supply chain to enable the efficient delivery of superior customer service.

Warehouses and Inventory controls are often overlooked and are not thought to be an important activity. Therefore, incorrect levels of inventory can be held with attendant knock on effects to costs, availability and customer service.

The program will destroy this myth of unimportance and demonstrate just how to:

• Evaluate procedures, change and improve methods wasteful activities and excess costs.
• Discover all of the essential tools for the effective management of warehousing and inventory
• Achieve best in class performance is exactly what this program is about.
• Use all of the practical skills to take back to the workplace so that all those internal problems that limit performance are avoided.
• Apply the required principles and look at many practical applications in a highly interactive learning environment; delegates will have fun while learning principles and skills to ensure that they are able to change current methods and activities.

The seminar is split into two modules:

Each module is structured and can be taken as a stand-alone course; however, delegates will maximise their benefits by taking Module 1 and 2 back-to-back as a two-week seminar.

By the end of this programme you will be able to:

• Learn the principles of Warehouse and Inventory Management
• Evaluate current procedures
• Examine operations and activities
• Analyze the key areas of operations
• Identify and Understand key performance indicators
• Succeed in improving operations
• Improve personal productivity
• Make needed changes to methods to improve customer service whilst achieving reductions in inventory
• Eliminate wasteful costs
• Avoid those internal problems that limit performance
• Obtain added value for money
• Understand and implement the essential tools for managing warehouses and inventory in the supply chain

Warehouse and Inventory Management consists of nineteen modules containing lecture content, participative discussions, and many case studies to make the training come alive. The supportive comprehensive course manual will enable practical application and reinforcement and ensure back at work applications.

A legacy of increasing product availability and customer service levels is the ever-increasing requirements to:

• Examine the link of stock in the company operations and activities
• Analyse the key areas of warehouse operation
• Identify and understand key performance indicator
• Succeed in improving operation
• Organisations are much more healthy and productive when they have effective warehouse and inventory operations that provide superior customer service and product availability

• See how to conduct an analysis of stock
• Gain from making productivity improvements in all operations
• Understand how to select and maintain warehouse equipment
• Conduct safe working practices and operations
• Apply a framework for continual improvement
• Gain the financial benefits that effective warehouse and inventory management can bring

Warehouse and Stores Management

The Role of the Warehouse

• Why we need a warehouse,
• What functions they cover,
• How do they fit into the supply chain
• The balance between sorting and storing
• 12 initial questions to ask about warehousing activity

Product Classification

• Supply /demand variables
• ABC Analysis or the 80/20 rule
• Determining product handling groups
• Throughputs and product formats

Layout Options

• Receiving options
• Storage options
• Picking/assembly options
• Dispatching options
• Using the floor and the height space
• Organising for flow

Methods and Equipment

Here we specifically look at the lifting, storing and moving equipment available for specific layout options, including:

• Warehouse structures
• Loading bays
• Selecting fork lift trucks
• Selecting racking
• Implications for warehouse layouts
• Operational timings and planning

Health and Safety

• Duty of care
• Inspections and risk assessments-task analysis
• Equipment maintenance and care
• Raising people's awareness

Security and Loss

• Minimizing internal theft
• Minimizing external theft
• Preventative measures will be briefly discussed.

Productivity and Costs

• Fixed and variable cost
• Typical costs involved
• A model for understanding the roles of productivity, utilisation, and performance
• Setting productivity and cost targets
• The importance of having measurements and key indications of performance

Service Levels

As Warehouses are a link in the total process of satisfying customers, this session will therefore look at:

• Internal and external customers
• The three key customer service measure
• Customer service sampling
• Effects of substandard service
• Minimising errors

Warehouse Layout

• Different types of layout with advantages and disadvantages
• Planning for flow in the warehouse
• Checklists to help on deciding the best option

Summary

Finally, in linking together all the sessions, we put forward simple overviews and a clear summary, including:

• The 7 step model for better warehouse management
• The top 20 warehousing ideals for continuous improvement

Inventory and the Supply Chain

• Inventory management definition
• Types of stock
• Demand amplifications
• Demand replenishment in networks
• Managing the flows
• Type I and II supply chains
• The Supply Chain Rules
• Inventory and statistics
• Concept of service level

Inventory Key Concepts

• Key Component: Demand Analysis
• Key Component: Demand Forecasting
• Key Component: Supply Lead Time
• Key Component: Cost & Benefits
• Inventory benefits
• Inventory polices
• Inventory in organizations

Inventory Replenishment Methods and Systems

• Basic mechanics of inventory systems
• The stock time curve
• Stock components
• Stock investment
• Free stock calculation
• Simple replenishment methods, for example, Min/Max
• Accurate replenishment methods, for example, Reorder Point and Reorder Level (ROP/ROL)
• Requirements planning systems, for example, Materials/Manufacturing Resource/Requirements Planning (MRP / MRPII)

Stock Control-Coding

• Different coding methods
• Importance of inventory receipts
• Identifying surplus and obsolescent stock
• Checklists to help on deciding the best option

Stock Control-Recording

• Separation of powers
• Legal issues
• How do we get inaccuracies?

Stock Control-Checking

• Roles and responsibility
• Requirements
• Job Descriptions
• Authority levels
• Tolerances and approvals
• The stock check programme
• Options for stock checking methods
• Reconciliations / discrepancies

Inventory Performance

• Inventory Performance
• Assessing the stock level
• Models for implementing inventory control
• Determining stock targets
• Inventory questions
• Inventory KPI's in warehouses/stores

Inventory Strategies

• Push/pull
• Quick response (QR)
• Efficient consumer response (ECR)
• Collaborative planning forecasting and replenishment (CPFR)
• Lean and agile approaches
• Quality Management
• Postponement
• Cross Docking
• Consolidation
• Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI)
• Consignment stocking
• Co Managed Inventory (CMI)
• Direct product profitability (DPP)
• Economic value added (EVA)
• Collaborative supply chains

Inventory Improvements

• Using the Supply Chain
• Using the Theory of Constraints
• Practical inventory improvements
• Call offs and Telemetry
• EDI and ICT
• Keys to reducing stock levels
• The 7 Rules for planning inventory
• Model for planning inventory