What is meant by inventory management?

Inventory management helps companies identify what stock to order and when and when. Track inventory from buying to selling goods. The practice identifies and responds to trends to ensure that there is always enough stock to fulfill customer orders and to adequately warn if there is a shortage.

Inventory management

refers to the process of ordering, storing, using and selling a company's inventory.

This includes the management of raw materials, components and finished products, as well as the storage and processing of such items. Inventory management is a systematic approach to obtaining, storing and selling inventory of both raw materials (components) and finished products (products). Inventory management is the tracking of inventory from manufacturers to warehouses and from these facilities to the point of sale. Companies with large inventories, complex warehouses, or that sell on multiple channels may have many moving parts in their inventories.

The SEC requires public companies to disclose the LIFO reserve, which can make inventories with a LIFO cost comparable to FIFO costs.