AMR out look Tales from DDSN Leaders

This looks like a good overview report on Sales and Operations planning technology. 
 
Companies reviewed by this report include:

• Adexa
• AspenTech
• Cognos
• DCRA
• Demantra
• i2 Technologies
• Infor
• Intentia
• Interlace
• Kinaxis
• Logility
• Manugistics
• Oracle
• Prescient
• Right90
• SAP
• Silvon Software
• Steelwedge Software
• Supply Chain Consultants
• Symphony/RPM
• TXT e-solutions
• WAM Systems

MHIA has released its material handling equipment forecast.

This comprehensive forecast of material handling equipment
manufacturing is released each quarter and looks 12 to 18 months
forward to anticipate changes in the material handling and Logistics
marketplace. The 30+ page forecast includes:

• Content presented in the MHEM Segment Brief, plus
• Economic Cycle Analysis
• Leading Indicator Analysis
• National Association of Business Economists’ Forecast
• Capital Spending Analysis and Summary
• MHEM Forecast - Domestic, Imports, Exports, Consumption

MHEM represents over $20.0 Billion or approximately 30% to 35% of
our estimate for US Material Handling Consumption of nearly $125
Billion. The history and forecast includes the following equipment
categories:

• Conveyors and Conveying Equipment
• Overhead Traveling Cranes, Hoists, and Monorail Systems
• Industrial Truck, Tractors, Trailers and Stacker Machinery
• Other Material Handling Equipment

• CompuStock - Stock-takers and inventory specialists to the licensed and retail trades located in Northwest England.
• Franklands - European stock counting services and solutions.
• Hart Systems, Inc. - Rental physical inventory equipment, plus inventory, cycle count, and loss prevention audit services.
• IGP Inventory Specialist - Physical inventory service and stocktaking equipment rental.
• Inventory Count Enterprise Inc. - Provider of physical inventory service with clients from Florida to the Caribbean.
• Inventory Systems - Software, barcode scanners, and label printers. Profile and product range.
• LBS, Inc. - Provides retail inventory services in the midwest United States.
• MSI Inventory Service - Physical inventory services throughout much of the United States. Includes services, employment and contact information.
• Quantum Services - Audit and inventory services for convenience stores. Includes employment information and services.
• RGIS Inventory Specialists - Inventory control service to the world’s retailers, warehouses and manufacturers. Offers barcode, scanning, inventory management resources, and marketing services.
• Sure Count - UK company offering stocktaking and audit services.
• thestocktakers.com - Stocktaking, audit, and management services in the UK. Includes services and contacts.
• Volunteer Inventory Service - Provides inventory auditing services for retailers in the Southeast U.S.
• Washington Inventory Service - Offers inventory services including disaster recovery inventories, on-site vendor audits, and liquidation inventories.

By James Hunt

If you have a company that handles large amounts of inventory you’re going to want to have a system in place that lets you manage your inventory in a way that you always know exactly what you have on hand, what has been sold and spoken for, and what stock you have arriving.  Managing the fulfillment of your orders is very important so that you don’t run out of inventory.  Running out of inventory can mean losing sales and this is a scenario that you want to avoid.  Inventory management can be made easy with the use of inventory software that is available to do all the work for you.  No more papers lying around waiting to be filed.

Inventory software is easy to use and will most times come with a tutorial to help you get started.  You’ll be able to keep track of the inventory that pertains to your business without ever having to second guess yourself again.  As well as an accurate record of what inventory you have on hand you’ll also be able to keep track of your costs, expenses, and debts.  Most inventory management will also let you keep track of the equipment that you have that is used as your business capital. If you have any equipment that is depreciated you’ll be able to tell at a glance what the value is.  With all the functionality of an inventory software program you may be able to reduce those other types of business software that you’re using to keep records and information about other aspects of your business.

There are many different types of inventory software on the market.  If you’re unsure about what management system to buy you can check reviews of software in many business magazines and journals.  Many software companies will offer their software with a trial version so you can use they program for a couple of weeks or will give you an extensive online overview of their product before you decide to buy.

James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest.
Read more at  http://www.inventory-management-center.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Hunt

By Edward McMahon

For the smaller inventory intensive businesses, management of the inventory is a most important task for the entrepreneur. Unfortunately, it is not always understood. In many retail businesses, inventory is the largest asset on the balance sheet. Today’s technology allows even the smallest retailers to track their inventory and sales and to know what their customers are buying.

One of your most important activities is planning your inventory purchases. Too often, little or no planning goes into inventory acquisition. Know what your customers are buying and what is not moving. If you don’t know this, you can not plan your inventory. Don’t buy yesterday’s sales; buy tomorrow’s sales. Use yesterday as a guide, adjusted by your experience, research in the marketplace and knowledge of your target audience. Forecast your sales as accurately as possible to insure your inventory matches those forecasts

An important consideration in inventory management is inventory mix. Mix includes size as well as fashions and style. Do you have everything the customer wants? If not, you miss sales opportunities. If you have inventory the customer does not want, the cash used for that inventory, but needed elsewhere in your business, is not available. Search for the right balance. One should look at inventory as cash sitting on the shelves. If it does not sell, the “cash on the shelves” is doing nothing for your business, except increasing costs. Inventory that does not move within a reasonable length of time should be aggressively sold to recover the cash.

Knowing what is selling and adjusting your inventory accordingly should result in improved inventory turns. One of the best ways to improve financial performance is to increase the turnover, the number of times the value of your inventory sells each year. Revenue increases, without additional fixed costs, results in increased cash income and profit.

Equally important is careful inventory management of seasonal items. Try not to have a stock room full of last year’s inventory waiting for next season. Not only is the inventory of no value, it is incurring interest expense, storage expense and the risk of obselesence. Inventory planning is an important tool to prevent this.

We all know the market sets the price and the reseller has little to say about the predominate price levels in the marketplace. But you do have or should have a great deal to say about the cost of the product you are selling.

When you purchase inventory for resale, you should have a general idea of the market-selling price for those products and this is your best estimate for forecasting margins.

Question your vendors about what is moving and at what price levels. Do your own market research by visiting competitors and seeing what is being promoted and at what price levels. Track your sales carefully to understand the margins you are enjoying on various classes of products.

There are a number of software packages for use with POS terminals that can help you track this important asset. Do not be satisfied that less than 50% of your inventory is accounting for the bulk of the sales. Strive to move your entire inventory.

Don’t hesitate to “distress sale” slow moving inventories. Some say that destroys margins. How false a notion. If it is on the shelf, it is providing no margin, only additional costs.

Inventory costs include your cost of capital, the allocated space and overhead costs, insurance, the risk of obsolescence and deterioration and the final risk to small businesses, shrinkage, the inventory that sometimes walks out the back door rather than the front door.

Protect the inventory as you do cash in the register. It is that important. Good inventory management means continually adjusting your inventory mix to meet the customer’s needs; aggressively eliminating slow moving, obsolete and season ending inventory to recover the cash for another day; planning you inventory to match your mix and sales forecasts; continually measuring inventory turn to increase revenue and profits; and managing your inventory to eliminate shrinkage.

Using technology and having a positive attitude about inventory management can improve your performance and profits. Don’t ignore this part of your business because it is not as glamorous or exciting as selling. Done right, it will put money in your pocket.

Ed McMahon, MBA, is the author of “Understanding Small Business”. He graduated from Villanova U., City University of New York and completed post graduate work at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He has extensive small business experience as an owner, investor and counselor. He taught Industrial Marketing at the graduate school level, bookeeping and accounting at the business school level and has taught understanding small business workshops for the past 11 years at the Junior and community college levels.  He can be reached at usb@houston.rr.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edward_McMahon

Companies are discovering how to better maintain inventory and fill orders with powerful new tools and best practices. Find out how they’re making drastic cuts like 30% less inventory look easy.When managing warehouses, companies aim to reduce costs in two major operations—maintaining inventory and filling customer orders. To make both more efficient, they are not only adopting new technology solutions but also implementing “best practice” procedures. While the high-tech approach involves utilizing new software tools (think “collaborative visibility” and “inventory optimization”), the “best practice” tack entails arranging items in the warehouse or distribution center in the most expedient manner.

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