The optimal flow of materials is measured by factors like turnaround times. The major player here is inventory management, which ensures that items are shipped quickly. Using supporting measures like statistics, collective picking, or automatic batch/serial number allocation, inventory and tied-up capital can be reduced considerably while maintaining guaranteed availability in parallel.

The Inventory Management framework provides you with the solutions you need to achieve the best possible materials flow. Leverage it as your opportunity to pinpoint potential for improvement with the following functions:

• Multi-level warehouse structures possible with warehouses, warehouse zones, and storage locations (optional with rows, floors, and storage locations)
• Even special storage, bulk storage, or high rack/ASRS storage
• Identifiers: batches, lots, serial numbers
• Where-used lists and origin analysis
• Quality status
• With retaining time, expiry date, shelf life and mimimum lifetime
• Fixed reservations
• Dynamic availability determination, on the basis of availability rules, according to item, identifier, or origin
• Inventory queries
• Inventory values
• Inventory postings
• Automatic or manual
• With or without inventory change and/or inventory valuation
• Posting error log
• Using storage units
• Possible involvement of external devices and equipment, e.g., machine or plant data collection (PDC) solutions, hand-held terminals for recording picking data, or automatic stock equipment
• Inventory counts
• Several parallel inventory counts possible
• Annual inventory count, perpetual inventory count or even inventory count brought forward or postponed
• Inventory count lists
• Target/actual comparisons
• Inventory count valuations
• Different valuation methods
• Floating average price, FIFO, LIFO, or annual LIFO
• Optional storage location management