Warehouse &

Inventory
Management
SAQLAIN ABBAS
Competitive Strategy
Thinking comes from Michael Porter of Harvard who in
late 70’s developed 3 models to help us think about
strategy:

• Generic Strategies
• 5 Forces Model
• Value Chain
Competitive Advantage
• Creating and sustaining superior performance.
• When a company can sustain profits that exceed the
average for the industry
• Example: Google, Amazon, Alibaba, etc.
Generic Strategies
Cost: Compete by offering the lowest prices.
Differentiation: Product or service that offers unique
value.
Focus: Narrow or Large, focus on an entire industry or a
small market segment.
Generic Strategies
Value Chain Analysis
Outcome of VCA

Enterprise
Resources
Planning
Customer
Supply Chain
Relationship
Management Management
What is Inventory?
• Inventory or stock refers to the goods and materials that
a business holds for the ultimate goal of resale, production or
utilization.
• Inventory management is a discipline primarily about specifying
the shape and placement of stocked goods. It is required at
different locations within a facility or within many locations of a
supply network to precede the regular and planned course of
production and stock of materials.
Types of Inventory
• Raw Materials ( Plant/Tree based, Animal based, Mining based)
• Direct Raw Materials
• Indirect Raw Materials
• WIP Inventory (Work in process/work in progress)
• Finished Goods
• Transit Inventory
• Safety Stock
• Anticipation Inventory
• Pipeline Inventory
What is warehousing?
Warehousing is the process of storing physical inventory for
sale or distribution. Warehouses are used by all different
types of businesses that need to temporarily store products
in bulk before either shipping them to other locations or
individually to end consumers.
Core Elements of Warehousing
• Capacity planning
Space is the key resource. Therefore, when a shipment of products is
expected, staff need to plan for where the products are going to be stored
to make the most efficient use of the space.
• Receiving inbound shipments
When products arrive at the warehouse, staff will need to receive the
items and carefully move them to a staging area for processing.
• Tracking inventory
As items flow in and out of the warehouse, they need to be registered in
the warehouse inventory management system to ensure administrators
can track what’s currently in inventory and plan for future changes.
• Storing products
After products have been received and processed, they need to be stored. This can involve
putting the products in bins and pallets and then using moving equipment to transport
them to their appropriate storage space.
• Controlling climate
Depending on the nature of the products, factors like temperature, humidity, or pressure
may need to be kept constant. For example, frozen goods will need to be stored in areas
where the temperature is below freezing. These requirements will affect how and where
products are stored within the facilities to ensure proper quality.
• Reorganizing
As new products are brought in, existing inventory may need to be moved to make sure
the whole space is being most efficiently utilized. Any changes need to be tracked and
updated in the inventory management systems.
• Retrieving and outbound shipping
Finally, when products need to go out of the warehouse for shipment, staff needs to
retrieve, process, package, load them, and then release them from inventory to allow
space for new inbound products.