Charles Carter, Shayvona Carter, Shiela Creel, Vickie Dufault, and Jennifer Study

Inventory System Summary

Charles Carter, Shayvona Carter, Shiela Creel, Vickie Dufault, and Jennifer Study

QRB501 Quantitative Reasoning for Business

Guohong Li

December 17, 2012

Inventory System Summary

Intro (shiela)

There are several systems, strategic plans, methods, tactics etc. that companies and organizations use to assist in operations, inventory, HRM, marketing, and even accounting. Such systems or plans are used and designed to initiate or monitor the responsibilities and tasks of specific departments in a company or organization. According to Priddy (2012) inventory systems are used by companies and organizations to monitor business products and supplies. Inventory systems provide a company with important information that can be overlooked if monitored manually like: in-stock products, merchandise, or supplies, monitoring of the most in-demand products (Priddy, 2012). Inventory systems vary depending on the size of company; larger companies tend to apply their own inventory systems while smaller companies apply inventory systems software programs (Priddy, 2012).

Priddy (2012) shares that through the three main processes of an inventory system: acquisitions, redeployment, and termination, an inventory system monitors products, movement of products, and the removal of products. During this week each member in Team A will research an organization that they are familiar with, and collect four years of quarterly inventory data describing the different inventory systems used, and compare the advantages and disadvantages of each inventory system applied. Inventory systems are important and necessary because technology has deemed to be more reliable than most employees, also it allows companies and organizations to apply their employees on other tasks instead of wasting time manually monitoring inventory.

Collect four years of quarterly inventory data from each organization. Report the data in a table format in the report

(please post your data under you name, on the FINAL draft I will remove the names and just keep the name of the organization you had selected)

Charles Carter

Shayvona Carter

Shiela Creel

Vickie Dufault

Target Corporation (Jennifer)

Target Corporation is a retail store that is known by consumers all over the globe, with a trade mark of the white dog and the red and white bull’s-eye. With popularity and demand it is essential to have a reliable and innovative inventory management system in place to ensure consumers can receive merchandise in a timely manner as well as capturing the operating costs within the inventory and merchandising departments. Target uses an inventory system that encompasses the needs of consumers who shop at the physical stores as well as purchase merchandise online. The most important tool any organization must have in place is a stable budget. Target establishes its budget to project the needs of the consumer based on consumer shopping patterns, trends, cycles, and leveling of inventory. According to Crosby, 1998-2012,”Inventory management systems are the rule for such enterprises… . The systems ensure customers always have enough of what they want and balance that goal against a retailer's financial need to maintain as little stock as possible. Mismanaged inventory means disappointed customers, too much cash tied up in warehouses and slower sales”(para. 1).

According to Microsoft, 2012, “When our guests come into our stores … ,[t]hey expect clean, wide aisles and to find what they need and check out quickly because they lead busy lives. So reliability in our technology, including our POS [point-of-sale] and replenishment applications, [as well as] helping us deliver on our ‘Expect More. Pay Less.’”(para. 4). The current inventory system gains its information from purchases made by the consumer at the checkout (online or physical store), there is a leveling number that triggers a need to replenish a specific product which in turn gives the inventory department the number of on-hand and how many are to be on the shelf at a given time. Over the years Target Corporation has made improvements to the inventory system because of bottlenecking issues; however, with a restructuring in the technology department they have installed mechanisms to increase truck unloading times, scanning time, and floor replenishment.

Collaborate as a team to compare the inventory systems.

Description of Inventory Systems

(each team member’s description will be posted under here alphabetically by last name)

• 250- to 350-word description of each inventory system.

Comparison of Advantages and Disadvantages

(each team member’s comparison will be posted under here alphabetically by last name)

• 350- to 700-word comparison describing the advantages and disadvantages of each system. That is total 350 to 700 words in comparison.

Format your summary consistent with APA guidelines.

Consolidate all the inventory data and analysis as well as the comparison into ONE paper to submit.

Conclusion (shiela)

Reference

Crosby, T. (1998-2012). How Inventory Management Systems Work. Retrieved on December 14, 2012 from

Micrsoft Case Study (2012). “Target Corporation Large Retailer Relies on a Virtual Solution to Deliver Optimal Shopping Experience”. Retrieved on December 15, 2012 from

Priddy, B. (2012). eHow.com: What is an Inventory System? Retrieved from

Quarterly Data for Target