Accurate & Balanced Inventory 1-Day Course
How much do I need? How much will each safety stock & batch size cost? How accurate is it? How can I use Excel to forecast better and lower my inventories?
KEY BENEFITS OF ATTENDING
In this workshop, you will find out how to:
- DIFFERENTIATE between co-ordination, reliability & LEAN and Direction, Anticipation & Acceleration
- UNDERSTAND the development of Integrated Planning & Control
- REVIEW an easy approach to balancing inventories using Excel
- OUTLINE safety stock & batch size simulation options
- IMPLEMENT an effective Sales Forecasting Process using existing Excel capabilities for better inventory levels
- LEARN how to schedule DC inventories, Finished Item inventories & Manufactured/Purchased inventories through DRP, MPS, MRP & Vendor Scheduling for supplier connectivity
- UNDERSTAND data accuracy requirements for a successful computer-based management system regardless of your ERP system
- CREATE a simple safety stock/inventory level simulator to feed the IBP Supply Review step
- UNDERSTAND the link to operations & purchasing including the 4 step approach to Cycle Counting, eliminating annual stocktakes, and, more efficient methods than A, B, C cycle counting
- OBTAIN “next practice” checklists to assist on your journey to best practice demand planning & sales forecasting including the Tom Wallace excel based S&OP diagnostic tool to conduct a self-assessment of key processes related to the IBP process. This checklist does not cover every aspect of an integrated planning & control process however, 2 other checklists will be provided to expand a self-assessment if your business wants to tackle other key processes. This checklist covers the monthly S&OP cycle, the Sales Forecasting process & the Master Scheduling/RCCP processes. The checklist may be completed prior to the course or, time permitting, at the end of the day where we may evaluate each company’s strengths & weaknesses according to the results of the assessment tool.
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
In this 1-Day session we look at how to implement a quick and easy approach to balancing inventories using a simulation approach using Excel by adjusting Safety Stock & batch Size parameters. This addresses the “how much inventory should I have” compared with what you do have! We also address the best way to eliminate annual stock takes and address fundamental root causes in the inventorying process. Various Cycle Count approaches will be presented.
Accountabilities and cross functional links will be discussed to enable you to assess the quality of your current processes against world class checklists (not just Inventory Record Accuracy but other key processes as well). Participants will receive 3 checklists the focus for this class will be the Dick Ling/Andy Coldrick Fundamental Checklist, the most basic benchmark guide.
Relevant performance measures will be presented to ensure companies are using the correct measures & the correct formula.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Practitioners in medium to large businesses involved in setting safety stock levels, achieving high levels of customer service, managing & reducing inventory levels, sales forecasting activities, warehouse staff, sales planning activities & customer communications, sales & marketing personnel, demand & distribution management, staff involved in new product introductions & product portfolio management, range & business rationalisation, master schedulers, pre-S&OP and S&OP participants. Such as:
Demand Managers. Demand Planners.
Production Managers. Planning Managers.
Inventory Managers. Purchasing Managers.
IT Managers. Project Team Leaders.
Finance Managers. Project Team Members.
Staff responsible for sales forecasting.
Supply Chain Managers. Distribution Managers
Course Dates & Duration
2 December 2026
Classes are conducted from 9 am to 5 pm Sydney Time, totaling 8 training hours. Participants will join the training via ZOOM. Participants will earn 8 CPD points for certification maintenance.
Prices
ASCI Member: $995
Non Member: $1,395
Programme
- Introduction to Integrated Planning & Control
- The importance of accurate inventories – “the why not the how”
- Assuring Record Accuracy – keeping the system lean, mean and above all, accurate
- How to design the Inventorying process
- Cycle Counting – cycle counting versus stock takes: popular methods, procedures & organisation, plus how to conduct one last stock take
- The 4 step approach to implementing Cycle Counting – a straightforward, proven & practical methodology used by thousands of organisations around the world
- Managing New Products & Deletions for minimum inventory write offs
- Safety Stock approaches for higher levels of customer service but lower inventories
- The 3 standard techniques for managing DC, factory & purchased inventories
- Managing purchased inventories through MRP and Vendor Scheduling (Supplier Connectivity)
- Planning for aggregate levels of inventories
- Classifying inventories over time