Every pallet sitting in a warehouse ties up cash – and the longer it sits, the more it risks losing value, going obsolete, or simply getting lost in the count. This Inventory Planning and Stock Control Management Training Course from the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy is built around that reality: inventory is a current asset, and mismanaging it quietly erodes company equity through loss, excess, obsolescence, and poor tracking.

Many cost-cutting efforts overlook exactly this – the inventory sitting in the warehouse and what it costs to carry it. The course gives participants the methods to see those hidden costs clearly and find where they can be trimmed, protecting the bottom line without disrupting operations.

Knowledge and Benefits

By the end of the course, attendees will be able to:

• Manage inventory across receiving, storage, and delivery in a way that consistently adds value for the end user.
• Apply the right inventory methods, forecasting techniques, and demand planning to reduce cost and improve customer service.
• Classify stock properly, compute optimal order quantities, and set safety stock and reorder points.
• Differentiate and categorise stock cost elements to support better decision-making.
• Manage inventory and the supply chain in a way that improves safety, productivity, and customer satisfaction.

Who Should Attend?

• Those new to managing inventory, and non-inventory staff who need awareness of stock control's key drivers.
• Inventory, stock, supply chain, logistics, warehouse, and distribution professionals.

Module 1: Inventory's Place in the Supply Chain

• Definitions, importance, and flow of inventory within the supply chain.
• The basic rules of a successful supply chain, and how inventory and supply chain dynamics interact.
• Financial management of inventory, statistics in inventory control, and the real state of inventory visibility.
• Why inventory exists in organisations in the first place.

Module 2: Planning for Demand and Cost

• Analysing end-user demand and forecasting for operations and maintenance.
• Understanding supply lead time and conducting cost/benefit analysis.
• Developing inventory policies that balance cost against service levels.

Module 3: Inventory Systems and Replenishment Mechanics

• The basic mechanics of inventory systems, and establishing order quantities.
• The implications of holding free stock.
• Simple replenishment methods (Min/Max), Reorder Point/Reorder Level (ROP/ROL), and requirements-planning systems with bills of material.

Module 4: Stock Control and Accuracy in Practice

• Establishing stock checking routines and improving stock accuracy.
• Managing stock tolerances, approvals, reconciliations, and discrepancies.
• Identifying surplus and obsolete stock, understanding storage conditions, stock coding, and reducing stock variety.

Module 5: Strategy and Continuous Improvement

• Creating an inventory policy, and applying Incoterms and supply chain rules.
• Understanding Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and Co-Managed Inventory (CMI).
• Using the Theory of Constraints and practical models to reduce stock levels and plan inventory more effectively.