Are e-inventories visible?

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 12/1/2000

Yes, says Gerry Kilty, president of Quality Management Solutions, Inc., e-inventories are not only visible but the data about them must be impeccable, he explained at the recent APICS conference in Orlando, Fla. And that data is not just about the immediate availability of one item or another. It also includes measures such as lead times and capacity.

To make that possible, says Kilty, companies must have systems in place not only at their own operations but be tied into systems at their customers and suppliers. And that requires alliances that allow a seamless stream of information and materials flow.

"Most companies today consider only about 20% of their suppliers to be partners. In the future, most, if not all, will be," Kilty says.

Those links will continue to the supplier side too. Meanwhile, make-to-stock will be replaced by make-to-order operations as companies sell capacity as well as finished goods. The end result will be that inventory visible at any stage of the supply chain can be sold and promised to a customer.