Inventory and Storage Management
The terms warehousing and inventory management are often used interchangeably or have their concepts confused. But, in a market where details increasingly impact the performance and numbers of the company, it is essential that everyone is up-to-date and prepared to develop work with excellence. The better prepared your team, the more competitive your business tends to be.
Want to understand the difference between warehousing and inventory management? Let’s explain!
Inventory management activity is considered strategic, and its function is to control aspects related to supplying the production line and making products evaluative for sale. It refers to the temporary or even permanent storage of raw materials, products, or goods ready for consumption, therefore it is formed by inputs and products.
The tasks performed in the warehouse are of an operational nature, such as: receiving materials, picking products, placing them on shelves and consolidating orders. Warehousing generally refers to all activities at a product and material distribution point, such as warehouses, logistics centers, and warehouses.
After this differentiation, we realized that the stock is nothing more than a step in the storage process. So people have doubts about the similarity of the two concepts. We can say that storage is a set of various processes, systems, methods, structures and equipment, which maintain, move and feed a supply chain, whereas stock would be just a part of this set, fundamental to store and meet movement needs and product distribution. Thus, when we refer to inventory and storage management work, it is important to have a separation of activities.
In stock, it is essential to have specific controls, whereas in storage, it is significant to consider the best handling methods, adequate packaging, systems used, even the most suitable equipment for each type of product.
Having an inventory and storage management is essential for any company. But, it is necessary to know how to differentiate these concepts, with that in mind, the manager is easier to define activities to be carried out in both sectors.
How to make inventory management more efficient?
- Count on a management system.
- This need becomes even more apparent due to the obligation to always keep accurate records, the materials that are in stock must be accounted for to determine the costs involved and estimate sales prices for the consumer. Inventory levels also influence the ability to supply the production line and meet the demand of its consumers.
- Update your inventory.
- The number of items in stock is often a source of concern. The best way to balance consumed items and plan replenishment is to carry out a daily control of movements. This involves the use of systems, after all manual counting is not feasible.
- Negotiate supply.
- A new trend is to work with leaner inventories and work scheduling purchases as needed. This change manages to reduce the maintenance costs of warehouses and stopped materials, thus, the company achieves significant savings in processes.
How to improve the storage process?
To improve the storage process, some measures can be taken that bring benefits to work procedures.
- Choose the ideal layout.
- The warehouse must have adequate physical space depending on the type of material that is stored there. The storage of consumables can be done using shelves, as chemical products must be placed in isolated places to avoid contamination. Attention should be paid to the distance between the shelves and the location of the items, to make handling more efficient.
- Look for automation of handling.
- The use of forklifts and elevators are fundamental due to the abundance of boxes that will be stacked. In addition, the use of these mechanisms optimizes the time used in the separation of products and consolidation of loads that will be transported. The automation also allows the computerized separation of orders and the expansion of the use of conveyor belts to remove items from the shelf.
- Implement item coding.
- The coding of items is essential when having an abundance of diverse materials, so all material is classified to facilitate location with greater agility. The registration must be made with the name of the manufacturer, the name of the product and its characteristics, such as weight and dimensions.
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