Inventory Management Study Shows How Mining Stacks Up Against Other Sectors
New cross-industry survey illuminates the landscape and challenges of inventory management and optimization
A recent survey by consulting firm ScottMadden noted that industry professionals generally agree that effective inventory optimization is a major goal, but not everyone agrees on the best way to achieve it — and it can be especially challenging to ensure the “five rights” are accomplished consistently — right materials, right quantity, right location, right time and right cost.
The study asserted that historically, asset-intensive companies such as mining have a somewhat sub-optimal record when it comes to managing inventory, specifically excess, obsolete, incorrect material, and/or wrong quantities in stock. That said, there is no doubt that when a piece of equipment goes down in one of these industries, everyone mobilizes to “get the oxcart out of the ditch” and ensure the asset is back online as quickly as possible, according to study by contributing author Andy Flores, a partner at ScottMadden.
