If you run a manufacturing company, it is worth taking a close look at the stored semi-finished goods. This is where there is usually particularly great potential for optimization. Why is this so? Semi-finished goods are partly ordered by the purchasing department and then stored; and partly semi-finished goods from the company’s own production are stored. Semi-finished goods are then taken from the warehouse on an order-related basis for further processing. If customer orders are cancelled, the semi-finished goods often remain in the warehouse unnoticed. In the case of new orders, new orders are placed without thinking about the stock levels. Or the articles have been changed by product development in the meantime, and the semi-finished goods in stock can no longer be used. There are many reasons why semi-finished goods inventories creep up in many companies, tying up capital unnecessarily and taking up warehouse space.
It has proven effective to invite product development, purchasing and customer service to the warehouse every now and then to see the physical inventories and think about possible uses. Perhaps semi-finished products can be planned into new designs, perhaps they can alternatively be sold to customers as spare parts.