Inventory Management Concepts

The purchasing manager conducts value analysis that aims mainly at achieving cost effectiveness and maintaining the required level of quality. Value analysis is an organized effort that studies in detail the ‘value’ of material. Value Analysis reviews the design changes with the objective of eliminating high cost materials and the materials that are technically obsolete and reducing the number of parts. After analyzing the functions and cost of material, the purchasing manager evaluates the possibilities of using the material.

Value Analysis can be defined as a process of systematic review that is applied to existing  product designs in order to compare the function of the product required by a customer to  meet their requirements at the lowest cost consistent with the specified performance and  reliability needed.

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Kanban is a concept related to lean and just-in-time (JIT) production. The Japanese word kanban is a common everyday term meaning “signboard” or “billboard” and utterly lacks the specialized meaning that this loanword has acquired in English. According to Taiichi Ohno, the man credited with developing JIT, kanban is a means through which JIT is achieved.

Kanban is a signaling system to trigger action. As its name suggests, kanban historically uses cards to signal the need for an item. However, other devices such as plastic markers (kanban squares) or balls (often golf balls) or an empty part-transport trolley or floor location can also be used to trigger the movement, production, or supply of a unit in a factory.… Read the rest