When the economy is expanding, everyone is optimistic. Many companies increase inventory levels without putting much thought into what they are buying. After all, they think, "someone will buy it." But when the economy sours, new customers' sales are hard to come by. And your competitors often try to steal your customers to make up for their lost sales. It is critical in challenging times that: (1) an appropriate number of dollars be invested in stock inventory, and (2) every one of those dollars works as hard as possible to maximize the profitability and productivity of your investment.

Discover your organization's unique potential, because you will perform all analyses with your own data!

Our Effective Inventory Management Workshop is not a typical inventory management seminar. It is an intensive two-day live session designed for people who want to take an aggressive, hands-on approach to dealing with their inventory challenges. Before the session we supply you with a list of information to collect from your organization and computer system. During the workshop you will use your data (or alternative sample data supplied by EIM) in a series of exercises and analyses to:

1. Understand the difference between managing your inventory to maximize profitability and managing your inventory to maximize cash flow.

2. Ensure that on-hand quantities in your warehouse remain accurate with cycle counting, ensuring that all material movement is properly recorded, and protecting your inventory from theft.

3. Plan warehouse organization that will minimize the cost of filling orders.

4. Accurately measure the productivity and profitability of your inventory investment.

5. Identify products that are not contributing to your overall inventory-related goals and might be candidates for liquidation.

6. Identify and analyze possible unusual sales or usage.

7. Recognize the specific components necessary to develop a meaningful forecast of future demand for each stocked product. We will look at several popular methods of forecasting to determine the "best" method for your inventory.

8. Measure and improve forecast accuracy.

9. State how promotions, environmental factors, and special products can be incorporated into a forecast.

10. Decide whether it is better to buy from a vendor, transfer from a central warehouse, or assemble a product in-house.

11. State the effect that longer and shorter lead times have on your total inventory investment and the service you provide your customers.

12. Decide on the "right" amount of safety stock or reserve inventory for each item to balance customer service and profitability as well as several methods for determining this quantity.

13. Determine how often you should issue replenishment orders for each source of supply (especially when vendors offer different terms for different-sized orders or you have to decide among several vendors).

14. Identify the best replenishment parameters and reorder quantity for each stocked item.

15. Determine the optimal inventory for each product (average monetary amount and number of days' supply) compared to your current inventory.

16. Identify how much excess inventory your suppliers are forcing you to carry.

17. Determine when it is in your best interest to take advantage of special discounts, payment terms, or other incentives.

18. State how changing your business objectives will effect your inventory performance.

19. Implement a simple way to determine what products or vendor lines need the most attention from a buyer.

20. Implement the best "total performance" measurements for your inventory investment.

And yes, there will be plenty of opportunity
to discuss your specific inventory challenges!

We will perform a lot of "what if" analyses, and you will discover how making small adjustments to your current practices can result in big improvements.

As we proceed through the course you will develop a list of action items to complete in the upcoming several months. During the last segment of the course we will organize these action items into a comprehensive plan to achieve effective inventory management.

For those participants who cannot obtain the necessary data from their organizations, a sample database will be supplied. However, to achieve maximum benefit from the course, all participants should have a computer equipped with Excel® software. Participants should submit their data to EIM two weeks before the seminar (by October 15) for validation. A template for the data we will use in the seminar will be emailed upon registration. If you do not have some of this data, please contact us to see if we can provide alternative analysis.

Jon Schreibfeder is president of Effective Inventory Management, Inc., a firm dedicated to helping manufacturers, distributors, and retailers get the most out of their investment in stock inventory. Jon literally "grew up" in a family-owned distribution business and started studying inventory management philosophies and best practices in the late 1960s. In the early 1980s, Jon went on to become a distribution industry "trouble shooter" for two major computer companies. His task was to help the computer companies' customers use their available computer tools to better manage their largest asset: inventory. Over the past 20 years, Jon has helped over one thousand firms improve their productivity and profitability through better inventory management. He is a frequent contributor to more than a dozen industry publications and is the author of a series of books on effective inventory management, including Achieving Effective Inventory Management – 4th Edition and Guessing Right... How to Boost Inventory Forecast Accuracy, published in August 2003 by the National Association of Wholesale Distributors.

A featured speaker at seminars and conventions throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific Rim, Jon has been awarded the title "Subject Matter Expert" in inventory management by the American Productivity and Quality Center. Jon is also a member of the Editorial Board of Practitioners Publishing, a leading publisher of accounting guides and textbooks. He is a regular guest lecturer in the Dept. of Industrial Technology at Purdue University.

"This course gave me ideas I can implement immediately and gain immediate results."

"The best seminar I have ever attended!"

"The instructor [Jon] displayed a sound proficiency in the subject matter and was able to teach it effectively."

"Your upbeat teaching style kept our whole class on their toes. Definitely recommend this seminar to any company looking to get a handle on their inventory."

"Even after attending a prior training session, reading books, and watching an inventory management video series many times, I firmly believe your instruction has been the most informative."

"Excellent seminar. I came away with some clear guidelines for the direction that our company must go to meet our long-term inventory goals."

October 29, 2009

1. Goal of effective inventory management and deciding whether to maximize profitability, cash flow, or a combination of both.
2. The difference between inventory control and inventory management.
3. Responsibilities of different departments in achieving effective inventory management.
4. Developing your approved stock list for each warehouse.
5. Ranking products by cost of goods sold and activity.
6. Measurements of inventory performance.
7. Demand forecasting.
8. Forecasting demand for new stock items.
9. Stocking products with sporadic usage.
10. Controlling planned excess of inventory.
11. Forecasting items with recurring usage.
    1. Appropriate forecast period.
    2. Analyzing past usage.
    3. Trends.
    4. Collaborative forecasts.
    5. Appropriate forecast horizon.
12. The difference between sales, shipments, and usage.
13. Verifying that usage data is correctly recorded.
14. Recording usage in a central warehouse/distribution center environment.
15. Different methods for calculating a forecast of future demand.
16. Calculating the forecast error.
17. Determining the best forecast method for each individual item.
18. Correcting for unusual usage activity.
19. Recognizing the difference between unusual usage and the start of a new trend.
20. How events can affect a forecast.
21. Dealing with collaborative forecast information for customers and salespeople.
22. How external factors (economy, weather, etc.) can affect a forecast.
23. The forecast horizon.
24. Total forecast for an item.
25. The effect of inaccurate forecasts on the entire supply chain.
26. Vendor-managed inventory programs.
27. Early-warning reports.

October 30, 2009

1. The First Minimum Quantity: Order point calculations.
2. Accurate anticipated lead times.
3. Safety stock quantities.
4. Residual inventory analysis.
5. Determining the target (best size) order with a vendor.
6. Determining the most appropriate order cycle from each source of supply.
7. The Second Minimum Quantity: Line point calculations.
8. Economic order quantities.
9. Order quantities to maximize cash flow.
10. When to take advantage of price breaks for a larger purchase.
11. Fill stock quantity replenishment.
12. Calculating your ideal inventory investment.
13. Buying before a price increase.
14. Determining your potential inventory turnover.
15. Replenishing stock in branch warehouses – transfer or buy?
16. Liquidating excess inventory and dead stock.
17. Benchmark metrics.
    1. Customer service level.
    2. Inventory turnover.
    3. Turn-Earn Index and GMROI.
    4. Percentage of excess inventory.
18. Effective replenishment processing.
    1. Crisis prevention orders.
    2. Increasing orders to meet a target requirement.
    3. Decreasing orders to meet container capacities.
19. Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP).
20. Warehouse organization.
    1. Bin locations.
    2. Organization of products within the warehouse.
    3. Appropriate storage units.
    4. When bar coding is appropriate.
21. Ensuring that all material movement is properly recorded.
22. Full physical inventories.
23. Cycle counting.
24. Reconciling count discrepancies.
25. Review and developing an action plan.

Refund Policy: Full refund up to 21 days prior to seminar. 50% refund granted if cancellation notice received 14-21 days prior to seminar. No refund within 14 days of seminar date. Substitutions are allowed at any time, but please notify us at 972-304-3325.

Please direct any complaints to Maureen at 972-304-3325.

Effective Inventory Management, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of contributing professional education on the National Registry of CPE sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN 37219-2417. Website: www.nasba.org.

Reservations must be made on or before October 7, 2009 to receive the group rate of $169. Reservations must be made by the individual by calling the Hotel directly at 972-724-2600. Please identify yourself as being with the Effective Inventory Management Workshop at the time the reservation is made. The Hotel offers complimentary DFW Airport shuttle service.

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