Almost all companies and organizations need to be concerned with purchasing goods and services if you’re part of the global supply chain. In other words, their inventory procurement.
Inventory procurement is the process of identifying suitable suppliers for a company. As procurement is a strategic process, inventory procurement will also work with suitable suppliers and manage their relationships. At the heart of inventory, procurement is acquiring goods and ordering them once they have been purchased.
About Inventory Procurement
Inventory procurement is the part of the global supply chain that involves identifying suppliers, establishing relationships, and buying and receiving inventory from the suppliers. It is also concerned with knowing what to buy, when, and how to buy it.
Procurement is a strategic process of the acquisition of goods and services. It is not just about buying goods and services but about doing it strategically.
That is why procurement is an essential part of any company’s organization. Procurement and buying and acquiring inventory usually take up substantial company resources.
Because inventory procurement is such an essential part of any company’s organization, most companies will have a software system to help them identify when and how to buy inventory or when they are running low on stock on certain items.
Most companies are on both sides of the procurement process; they sell goods to customers and buy products and services from others.
As companies are on both sides of the supply chain, they may find that they are the seller in some cases of the procurement inventory procurement and buyers in another.
Inventory Procurement And Identifying Suppliers
Anyone in the global supply chain understands that it’s not always easy to find suitable suppliers or suppliers who can do exactly what you need at quality, quantity, and price. Finding the right supplier is not always easy.
You may often find a supplier that can do what you want, but the price may be too high. Other times you may find someone who can do the price, but the quantity they are asking for is way out of the reach of your inventory. Trying to match your quality, quantity, and price with the right supplier can be a delicate balance.
That is what inventory procurement does; it is about identifying the right supplier to produce the product or give the services you need at the quality, quantity, and price you need.
Inventory Procurement And Establishing Relationships
Once you have found the right supplier, you must work to establish the right relationships with them. A good relationship with your supplier can help ensure your success in the global supply chain.
Many feel like having a good relationship with their supplier does not matter; they think so many other companies out there can do what their suppliers are doing, so they can pick and choose.
But honestly, this is usually not the case. Finding a good supplier and establishing a relationship usually takes time and a lot of hard work.
Buying And Receiving Inventory
At the heart of inventory, procurement is about buying and receiving inventory. Correctly buying and receiving inventory is a complex and technical aspect of a company’s business.
For example, buying too much inventory of one item can severely hurt a company’s cash flow and operations. If you also buy too little of an item, it can drastically impair a company’s sales.
I have seen companies who have purchased too much of one product and then been forced to sell the s products at a loss; this severely affected their ability to operate as a business. There is a delicate balance for a company to know how much to buy of one item and how much to keep in inventory and stock.
Recently with many of the issues of the global supply chain with shipping taking much longer than usual, It has shown how difficult the balance can be between buying just enough inventory for you to be able to remain profitable or not buying enough, so you lose money in potential sales.
Because this is an essential part of a company’s operation and can make a difference, even if a company succeeds or fails, inventory procurement is essential to any company’s operations.
Today inventory management is not done manually. Almost all companies will use some computer system to help them to be able to see what they have in inventory and what they need to buy.
But even with all of these computer systems in place, many things still need to be done by hand. For example, you still need to count and reconcile whether or not what you have on your spreadsheet is actually what you have in inventory.
Also, there may be decisions that need to be made through an inventory procurement manager that cannot be made through the computer system. So even though computers are being used to help manage inventory in the procurement process, there still needs to be checking and verification that is taking place throughout the inventory procurement process.
Inventory procurement is essential to any company’s procurement process and overall operations. It is also why strategic inventory procurement is a crucial operation within the company’s general operations.
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