This chapter covers useful inventory management tutorials & tips:

• Merchandise Planning: Back To The Basics! ("..Critical to the survival and prosperity of your business is sound merchandise management. It's not just another "paper exercise" -- it can mean the difference between strong, positive cash flow and a constant battle to pay your bills. It can keep your operation profitable even in times of less-than-robust sales...")

• How to Shape Up Your Inventory ("..These days, independent retailers cannot afford one iota of excess inventory. Storage costs, insurance, pilferage, damage, obsolescence, taxes and interest on loans add up to 30 percent annually to the cost of the goods you carry. Because those costs continue to rise, tight inventory control is still one of the best investments you can make - especially during the buying season. If your store is like most retail stores, it's probably overstocked most of the time. This excess inventory is like..")

• Optimizing Safety Stock ("..Optimizing Safety Stock levels by calculating the magical balance of minimal inventory while meeting variable customer demand is sometimes described as the Holy Grail of inventory management (ok, forecasting is probably the true holy grail but I thought this sounded good). Many companies look at their own demand fluctuations and assume that there is not enough consistency to predict future variability. They then fall back on the trial and error..")

• Optimizing Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) ("..Inventory models for calculating optimal order quantities and reorder points have been in existence long before the arrival of the computer. When the first Model T Fords were rolling off the assembly line, manufacturers were already reaping the financial benefits of inventory management by determining the most cost effective answers to the questions of When? and How much?. Yes long before JIT, TQM, TOC, and MRP, companies were using these same (then unnamed) concepts in managing their production and inventory..")

• Cycle Counting and Physical Inventories (Article)

• Inventory Management ("..This tutorial describes inventory management. Good inventory management is crucial to the success of the firm in the current competitive environment. Businesses must carry adequate inventory to meet customer demand but avoid excessive investments in inventory..")

• Inventory Management (".."Inventory" to many small business owners is one of the more visible and tangible aspects of doing business. Raw materials, goods in process and finished goods all represent various forms of inventory. Each type represents money tied up until the inventory leaves the company as purchased products. Likewise, merchandise stocks in a retail store contribute to profits only when their sale puts money into the cash register...")

• Effective inventory management starts at the store ("..For years, drug store retailers have had inventory management problems with the ethnic products category. As one ethnic products category manager put it: "We were either overstocked on underperforming items, and getting a poor return on invested inventory dollars as a consequence, or we were understocked on the best-selling, high-turning items and suffering lost sales as a result. We still have that problem.." - Detailed article)

• Tips for Improved Inventory Control Using Your Business/ Accounting Software ("..Most distributors and manufacturers find that accurate inventory management is their most difficult ongoing task, regardless of the business software that they use. In fact, a surprising number of firms are still employing the time-honored "Go Back" inventory control method today.." - Detailed)

• Foundations of Inventory Management [$]

• and more...