The Perils and Pitfalls of Lean Inventories

Manufacturing and distribution executives love the idea of slashing inventories. But it's distribution-center managers who must deal with the consequences. Lean is the watchword in supply-chain management today, and inventory isn't immune. All that merchandise sitting around on warehouse racks seems like a prime candidate for cost-cutting. And most of the time, the practice makes sense. Who wants a lot of unneeded product dragging down the bottom line? Unfortunately, D.C.s aren't always involved in the high-level decision to cut inventories. On this episode, we hear from Jeff Primeau, senior manager in the supply chain practice of management and technology consulting firm West Monroe Partners. He talks about how distribution operations can cope with sharply reduced stocks, and keep product flowing efficiently.