Inventory can quietly eat up a quarter of a company's capital at any given point — which makes it one of the most consequential assets a business holds, even though it rarely gets discussed with the same urgency as revenue or headcount. Too much stock ties up cash; too little disrupts production; either way, the imbalance shows up fast. This course from the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy measures exactly how warehouses affect institutional profit, and builds the controls needed to manage inventory effectively.

Across the programme, participants work through the real levers of inventory management: forecasting demand accurately, planning around peak-demand periods, applying techniques that reduce inventory costs, and managing performance so the whole system stays under control. It's built for anyone who wants to develop real skill in organising and managing warehouses well enough to keep production moving efficiently.

Programme Objectives

• Grasp the fundamentals of inventory planning and its role in supply chain management, including the different types of inventory and the principles of inventory control.
• Master demand forecasting techniques, both qualitative and quantitative, to inform sound inventory decisions.
• Apply inventory planning strategies such as safety stock and reorder points, and inventory control methods including ABC analysis, FIFO and LIFO.
• Organise warehouse layout efficiently, and put inventory management software and automation to work.
• Set key performance indicators for inventory management and recognise the common challenges that derail it, using real case studies as a guide.

Who Should Attend

• Inventory managers, supply chain managers and warehouse managers.
• Procurement specialists and business analysts working with inventory data.
• Students and graduates pursuing careers in logistics, supply chain management or business administration.

Module 1: Inventory Fundamentals and Its Weight on Company Capital

• Defining inventory, its types, and the concept of commodity inventory.
• The key characteristics of inventory, and the role inventory management plays within the institution.
• Objectives and core responsibilities of inventory management specialists.

Module 2: Demand Forecasting and Planning for Peak Periods

• Qualitative and quantitative demand forecasting techniques, and using supply chain data to sharpen them.
• Planning for peak-demand periods: seasonality, moving averages, exponential smoothing and min-max levels.
• Controlling demand to improve operational and financial efficiency.

Module 3: Inventory Control, Classification and Audit

• Inventory control methods — ABC analysis, FIFO and LIFO — and running cycle counts and regular audits.
• Classifying inventory effectively: strategic versus tactical, and turnover speed.
• Aligning classification with organisational requirements, and building accurate, auditable inventory records.

Module 4: Cutting Inventory Costs and Managing Risk

• Techniques for reducing inventory costs through continuous improvement.
• Manufacturing resource planning, just-in-time purchasing and production, and pull systems.
• Managing surplus and obsolete inventory, and applying risk management techniques to inventory decisions.

Module 5: Warehouse Organization, Technology and Performance

• Best practices for warehouse layout, storage and efficient retrieval.
• Inventory management software, tools and the role of automation.
• Setting operational, financial, compliance and environmental KPIs, and building a personal action plan from them.