Inventory Management

What Is Inventory Management?

Inventory management refers to the process of ordering, storing, using, and selling a company's inventory. This includes the management of raw materials, components, and finished products, as well as warehousing and processing of such items.

Understanding Inventory Management

A company's inventory is one of its most valuable assets. In retail, manufacturing, food services, and other inventory-intensive sectors, a company's inputs and finished products are the core of its business. A shortage of inventory when and where it's needed can be extremely detrimental.

At the same time, inventory can be thought of as a liability (if not in an accounting sense). A large inventory carries the risk of spoilage, theft, damage, or shifts in demand. Inventory must be insured, and if it is not sold in time it may have to be disposed of at clearance prices — or simply destroyed.

For these reasons, inventory management is important for businesses of any size. Knowing when to restock inventory, what amounts to purchase or produce, what price to pay — as well as when to sell and at what price — can easily become complex decisions. Small businesses will often keep track of stock manually and determine the reorder points and quantities using spreadsheet (Excel) formulas. Larger businesses will use specialized enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. The largest corporations use highly customized software as a service (SaaS) applications.

Appropriate inventory management strategies vary depending on the industry. An oil depot is able to store large amounts of inventory for extended periods of time, allowing it to wait for demand to pick up. While storing oil is expensive and risky — a fire in the UK in 2005 led to millions of pounds in damage and fines — there is no risk that the inventory will spoil or go out of style. For businesses dealing in perishable goods or products for which demand is extremely time-sensitive — 2021 calendars or fast-fashion items, for example — sitting on inventory is not an option, and misjudging the timing or quantities of orders can be costly.

For companies with complex supply chains and manufacturing processes, balancing the risks of inventory gluts and shortages is especially difficult. To achieve these balances, firms have developed several methods for inventory management, including just-in-time (JIT) and materials requirement planning (MRP).

Some firms like financial services firms do not have physical inventory and so must rely on service process management.

Accounting for Inventory

Inventory represents a current asset since a company typically intends to sell its finished goods within a short amount of time, typically a year. Inventory has to be physically counted or measured before it can be put on a balance sheet. Companies typically maintain sophisticated inventory management systems capable of tracking real-time inventory levels.

Inventory is accounted for using one of three methods: first-in-first-out (FIFO) costing; last-in-first-out (LIFO) costing; or weighted-average costing. An inventory account typically consists of four separate categories: 

1. Raw materials — represent various materials a company purchases for its production process. These materials must undergo significant work before a company can transform them into a finished good ready for sale.
2. Work in process (also known as goods-in-process) — represents raw materials in the process of being transformed into a finished product.
3. Finished goods — are completed products readily available for sale to a company's customers.
4. Merchandise — represents finished goods a company buys from a supplier for future resale.

Inventory Management Methods

Depending on the type of business or product being analyzed, a company will use various inventory management methods. Some of these management methods include just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing, materials requirement planning (MRP), economic order quantity (EOQ), and days sales of inventory (DSI).

There are other methods to analyze inventory. If a company frequently switches its method of inventory accounting without reasonable justification, it is likely its management is trying to paint a brighter picture of its business than what is true. The SEC requires public companies to disclose LIFO reserve that can make inventories under LIFO costing comparable to FIFO costing.

Frequent inventory write-offs can indicate a company's issues with selling its finished goods or inventory obsolescence. This can also raise red flags with a company's ability to stay competitive and manufacture products that appeal to consumers going forward.