Organizations are under a lot of pressure to produce goods of consistent quality that live up to the client's requests. However, if a manufacturer is having problems keeping up with inventory numbers, it could lead to shortages and a number of other difficulties. Let's take a look at some of the most prevalent inventory management challenges that manufacturers face:

1. Aligning inventory and demand planning

Manufacturers must be able to predict demand and ensure they have enough materials on hand to suit these needs. It's important for businesses to align their inventory and demand planning and management solutions to have full visibility into the supply and demand within their organizations, TechTarget stated. All systems must be able to speak to each other in order to integrate well and cover all necessary bases. Manufacturers will likely spend a lot of time integrating software into existing systems and configuring them to work with ERP solutions and other essential tools. 

2. Training users

Old habits die hard and if a new system isn't working as expected, employees may fall back to their tried-and-true methods. This can create a number of errors within the inventory management efforts and must be handled carefully. Toolbox.com contributor Jerri Ledford noted that manufacturers should put a change management team in place to monitor implementations and ensure that users become comfortable with the system to take advantage of it as soon as possible. Users should be trained on new processes and software when the decision is made to use them. This will ensure that workers have the information they require to effectively utilize the system, gaining value from the very beginning.

3. Handling excess or obsolete stock

No matter how good your prediction skills are, you'll likely order too many materials or have items that sit on your shelves for an extended period of time. It's important to have visibility into these types of situations and have a plan to either sell it or reduce the stock. Bain & Company noted that leaders should perform root-cause analyses to determine why excesses are occurring, as well as ways to reduce the creation of new excess or obsolete stock and how to sell off stock more effectively. Discounting these products may be an easy way to get them off your shelves.

4. Navigating complex systems

When a new software is introduced into existing workflows and operations, it can make systems significantly more complex. Existing dependencies can put limitations on implementations and even cause things to break. In addition to these complications, a new solution like an ERP system can create issues if there are a ton of bells and whistles within it. Ledford recommended leaving ERP solutions and other new systems as simple as possible to alleviate challenges and make them easier to use. Manufacturers should adopt only the capabilities and features that are necessary to solve problems and improve processes.

Inventory management is a critical part of manufacturing operations, and it's integral to understand the challenges that come along with it. With knowledge of these difficulties, leaders can better adapt their workflows to improve inventory capabilities.