Finished Stock: The Piggy in the Middle Available to Purchase

Recently there has been a proliferation of interest in the topic of total supply chain management. This interest has prompted many companies in the fast moving consumer goods sector to review their inventory policies and, in particular, levels of finished stock. Responsibility for finished stock often falls between production and distribution leaving it rather like a “piggy in the middle”. Unilever and Insight have pooled their resources in order to perform joint research into how stock levels can be reduced across the total supply chain and how responsibility for finished stock can be shared between production and distribution. Describes the strengths and weaknesses of different techniques in this field. Findings from the research show that simulation, when combined with mathematical theory, is a powerful and practical tool for both reducing stock through improved inventory policies and bridging the gap between production and distribution. An analogous approach may be applied to the control of stock levels of raw materials and packaging.