How do we free cash without hurting service levels?
Segment SKUs by value/variability, tune safety stock by service targets, and reduce MOQ-driven overstock where demand and lead-time data support smaller cadence.
Cluster hub
Working Capital & Ordering
Cash tied in stock: forecasting, MOQs, safety stock, and service levels.
Pillar page
Inventory and Working Capital: Speak the CFO’s Language
Cash conversion, carrying cost, and the inventory levers that show up in board slides — not only in the stockroom.
Spoke articles
- Safety Stock and Service Levels in Plain Language
Translate lead-time noise and demand swings into buffers that protect customers without inflating working capital forever.
- Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) Basics — When the Math Helps, When It Misleads
Classic EOQ assumptions, where real warehouses break them, and how to pair formulas with floor feedback and supplier constraints.
- Negotiating MOQ and Order Cadence With Suppliers
Volume breaks vs working capital, mixed pallets, and forecast visibility — levers beyond “please lower the MOQ.”
- Par Levels, Min/Max, and Reorder Points: Set Them Without Guessing
Demand intervals, lead-time spread, and review cadence — turning tribal knowledge into numbers new buyers can inherit.
- Demand Forecasting Pitfalls That Inflate Inventory
Promo spikes, one-off wins, and naive smoothing — how bad history poisons tomorrow’s buy unless you segment and clean.
- Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI): Where It Works, Where It Hurts
Shared forecasts, min/max ownership, and the governance you need so VMI doesn’t become surprise invoices.
- Consignment Stock: Cash-Flow Upside and Control Risks
Ownership transfer timing, counts, and reconciliation — so consignment stays a win, not a reconciliation swamp.
- JIT vs JIC: Choosing the Right Posture for Your Supply Risk
Just-in-time efficiency vs just-in-case resilience — segment by item criticality and supplier reliability, not ideology.
- Lead-Time Variability: Where Buffers Earn Their Keep
Supplier reliability scores, confidence intervals, and when to invest in visibility instead of blind safety stock.
- Resilience and Strategic Safety Stock After Disruption
Scenario buffers, dual sourcing, and the data you need to unwind emergency stockpiles without whiplash.
Cluster FAQ
What should finance and ops review together monthly?
Days on hand, aging value, write-offs, stock-outs, and supplier cadence exceptions. Joint review prevents local optimization that shifts cost elsewhere.