Inventory Planning Success: Five-Step Approach for Manufacturers

White papers

SCP

Inventory Planning Success: Five-Step Approach for Manufacturers

Outlines a five-step framework for manufacturers to improve inventory visibility, supplier monitoring, optimization, forecasting, and capacity planning amid supply chain disruptions.

Published

June 4, 2026

Read time

3 min read

Source

This guide presents a structured approach for manufacturers facing volatility in raw material prices, unreliable suppliers, rising logistics costs, and sustainability demands. It details practical steps to classify inventory using ABC-XYZ methods, set and track KPIs for stock holding and fill rates, measure supplier performance, and align replenishment with production capacity. The document includes customer examples from Crazy Aaron’s and Zhik demonstrating reduced lead times and improved visibility.

Key takeaways

Establish inventory KPIs for stock holding value and customer fill rate to guide replenishment decisions.

Classify items by sales value and velocity using ABC-XYZ analysis to focus on the 20% of SKUs driving 80% of sales.

Monitor supplier performance metrics including on-time delivery, lead time variance, and MOQ constraints.

Remove obsolete items with no sales in 24 months and designate slow movers as non-stocked to reduce excess inventory.

Share forecasts with suppliers and review open purchase orders to reduce long lead times and supply risk.

Market overview

SCR methodology note

Vendor landscape

Leaders

Implementation considerations

Important consideration

Original Source

Vendors mentioned in this report

No items found.