If the planning and mitigation measures fail and redundant or obsolete stock is identified, it needs to be removed from the current inventory location as quickly as possible. There are some methods to deal with these types of stock. The worst case scenario is disposal to landfill, which is inadvisable if it can be avoided, both from environment point of view and the financial costs of such disposal.
For example, the problem of obsolete pesticides remains extremely serious and urgent. Many of the stocks identified continue to deteriorate thereby giving rise to an ever escalating source of severe pollution and posing a threat to human health, the environment and development in particular. To reduce the impact of obsolete pesticides on environment, FAO initiated a project in Yemen in which a total of 262 tonnes of obsolete pesticides were removed from 20 different sites and successfully disposed of between March and June 1996. The major field operation was completed in six weeks during which period almost all obsolete pesticides were brought to a central location and subsequently shipped to the United Kingdom for incineration.
Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.1

Purchase order lead time (POLT) refers to the number of days from when a company places an order for production inputs it needs, to when those items arrive at the manufacturing plant.
LO 2, AC 2.3

Decisions regarding stores and warehouse locations involve a complex range of issues that are unique to each business. Most storage facilities and location decisions are based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Qualitative analysis uses subjective judgment to analyze a situation based on non-quantifiable in-formation, such as potential markets for new products, forecast on possible risks that may happen, etc.
Quantitative analysis (QA) is a technique that uses mathematical and statistical modeling, meas-urement, and research to understand behavior. Quantitative analysts represent a given reality in terms of a numerical value. This may include the following:
– Cost analysis for the current premises and future predictions based on current premises
– Cost analysis for routine operations
– Current inventory performance measures: lead times, service levels, rate of stock turn, stock-outs in a given period and stock cover To get a big picture of current situation and future demands, organisation should combine both qualitative and quantitative methods so that useful information is achieved and well-informed decisions are made.
Reference:
LO 1, AC 1.1

Costs of holding inventory include the following:
* Acquisition cost
* Inventory holding cost
* Costs of stock-outs
Acquisition costs follow the typical procure-to-pay model. Benefits of procure-to-Pay (P2P) software include:
– Vendor Management, which includes researching, selecting, engaging with, and evaluating the performance of suppliers who make up your supply chain.
– Purchase Requisition Workflows, or the formal process of creating and submitting a purchase requisition (PR) for approval to meet a specific business need.
– Purchase Order (PO) Workflows, covering the creation of a formal, detailed PO from the purchase requisition, including information on the quantity and quality of goods and services, as well as specific terms and conditions.
– Receiving, which includes the acceptance of physical goods (or review of quality and completion for services) and entering the accepted order into inventory, tracking, and accounting systems.
– Invoice Management, during which the invoice is compared to the original PO to verify pricing, quality, quantity, and terms have been met.
– Accounts Payable Workflows, wherein the accounts payable department processes the invoice for payment, submits the payment to the vendor, and reconciles any related financial entries in the accounting system.
The software is intended to help reduce the acquisition costs.
LO 2, AC 2.2

Void filling is the general term giving to the challenge of filling the space left in a box after the products have been packed. This means that if there is no void filling material, the product inside can move around and could be damaged. Materials to fill voids to secure contents
* Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic aromatic hydrocarbon polymer made from the monomer known as styrene.[5] Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and rather brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is a rather poor barrier to oxygen and water vapour and has a relatively low melting point.[6] Polystyrene is one of the most widely used plastics, the scale of its production being several million tonnes per year.[7] Polystyrene can be naturally transparent, but can be coloured with colourants. Uses include protective packaging (such as packing peanuts and CD and DVD cases), containers, lids, bottles, trays, tum-blers, disposable cutlery[6] and in the making of models. Polystyrene is generally considered to be non-biodegradable. However, certain organisms are able to degrade it, albeit very slowly.
* Chips made of bio-degradable materials
* Absorbent and fire-resistant material
* Shredded paper, cardboard or wood-Based material
* Paper or cardboard rolls
* Bubble wrap
* Air-filled cushions
* Self expanding foam
Straps are used to group items into unit load. Polypropylene or polyester are the materials most often used. The wider the strap, the stronger it will be. Using more than one strap and straps for length and width will create a strong place for stock.

Reference:
– Polystyrene (Wikipedia)
– CIPS study guide page 65
LO 1, AC 1.3

The system of slip sheet load handling involves the use of a thin sheet of material, the slip sheet, as a base on which items are assembled as a unit load for handling, storage, and transport. The slip sheet is used in conjunction with a pallet, if desired, at certain stages in the distribution cycle. If all lift trucks in the cycle are equipped with the proper attachment, an appropriate slip sheet is the only material handling base required. Slip sheet requires special push pull accessories and usually use thin and wide forks.


Skids are generally described as single-deck pallets and do not have bottom flatted layer which makes them less bulky and cheaper than conventional pallets but also less universal in their use.

Shrink wrap, also referred to as shrink film or shrink wrap, is a versatile polymer material used for the packaging of finished goods. Heat is applied to the film – by either a conveyor heat tunnel or an electric or gas heat gun – which catalyzes the film to shrink tightly around the item placed within. This process results in a clear, durable barrier of protection around the product.
Post pallets have a simple metal structure with four uprights and substantial feat to take the load. These may be free standing, but many are designed for the feet to interlock with the posts of another post pallet so that the stack can be created.

Reference:
LO 1, AC 1.3

According to Hines and Rich, value stream refers to specific parts of the firms that actually add value to the specific product or service under consideration. XYZ Ltd is mapping the value stream by analysing the value-adding activities that contribute to their most important product.
Postponement is a business strategy which maximizes possible benefit and minimizes risk by delaying further investment into a product or service until the last possible moment. An example of this strategy is Dell Computers’ build-to-order online store. One of the earliest references to the concept was in a paper by Zinn and Bowersox in the Journal of Business Logistics. They highlighted five types: Labelling, Packaging, Assembly, Manufacturing and Time postponements.
Kanban (signboard or billboard in Japanese) is a scheduling system for lean manufacturing and just-in-time manufacturing (JIT). Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota, developed kanban to improve manufacturing efficiency. Kanban is one method to achieve JIT. The system takes its name from the cards that track production within a factory. For many in the automotive sector, kanban is known as the “Toyota nameplate system”.
Put simply, silo working occurs when several departments or groups within that organisation do not want to share information or knowledge with other individuals they work with.
Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.3

Temporary warehousing (or ‘Very short-term warehousing’) is offered in the market where organ-isation makes their requirements for space open online to offers or bids for available space. This appears to be an emerging market and service providers in the UK and USA typically quote a price per pallet per week with some also requiring a ‘transaction fee’ for movements of each pallet in and out.
Consignment stocking is a facility offered by a supplier to a buyer to allow a delivery of stock to the buyer with payment only after it is used or sold to a customer.
Double-deep pallet racking and carousel-style storage are two tools that leverage space within a warehouse:
Double-deep pallet rack

Carousel style storage
Reference:
LO 1, AC 1.1

Work in progress is the stock part-way through a manufacturing process; in the service sectors the term is also used for anything between order and delivery.
Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.1

Calculating Inventory Turnover (Stock Turn)
As with a typical turnover ratio, inventory turnover details how much inventory is sold over a period. To calculate the inventory turnover ratio, cost of goods (COGS) is divided by the average inventory for the same period.1 Cost of Goods Sold ÷ Average Inventory or Sales ÷ Inventory In this exercise, the stock turn equal to sales divided by inventory, or 1,000,000:250,000 = 4.
Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.3

In inventory management, service level is the expected probability of not hitting a stock-out during the next replenishment cycle or the probability of not losing sales.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) can be used to analyse data based on performance objectives and set actionable goals for improvement. KPIs can be developed in conjunction with suppliers as well as others, and can be used to measure the essential elements of the process.
Safety stock is the amount of inventory a business needs to have to achieve a certain level of risk mitigation when it comes to stockouts.
Reorder level (or reorder point) is the inventory level at which a company would place a new order or start a new manufacturing run.
Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.3

Two-dimensional (2D) barcodes look like squares or rectangles that contain many small, individual dots. This has many different types (i.e. Data matrix, QR codes, Aztec code,…) and several different standards in use (i.e. GS1 standards, ISO/IEC 18004:2015). It can be substituted for 1D barcode, but it has the capability to hold a larger amount of data. For examples, GS1 Data Matrix can contain 3116 Numeric characters or 2335 Alphanumeric characters while GS1-128 barcode has maximum capacity of 48 characters.
Like 1D barcodes, 2D barcodes are also machine-readable with dots/squares and spaces. They have symbology like this:

Since the code is two dimensional, conventional laser scanner can’t read it. 2D barcodes require imaging scanner to read.
2D barcodes can be also used for different purposes throughout the supply chain: identifying prod-ucts/SKU (single unit, packaged or pallet), identifying content of a purchase order or delivery, identifying the batch number from which the item originates, identifying the manufacturer, country of origin etc, tracking status of an order, shipment or delivery Reference:
LO 1, AC 1.2

The safety stock (or buffer stock) is the stock level that limits stock shortages due to unforeseen events (forecasts not in line with demand, longer than expected supply time, etc…) Demand variance is the degree to which the demand in a fixed period deviates from the average demand of the same period.
A reorder point is the unit quantity on hand that triggers the purchase of a predetermined amount of replenishment inventory.
The just-in-time (JIT) inventory system is a management strategy that aligns raw-material orders from suppliers directly with production schedules.
Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.1

Tail Spend is derived from ABC Analysis, Class A high value suppliers, Tail Spend is formed from class B & C suppliers, equates to 20% of the total spend, B is Mid Tail and C is Long tail. Effective Spend Analysis and tail spend management, ensures that procurement can focus on creating an optimum and efficient sourcing strategy.
Procurement Spend Analysis
Procurement organisations effectively identify and manage suppliers using a sourcing strategy. Tail suppliers normally have low strategic value and makes the category management, very difficult . Spend Analysis and Category Management are very closely aligned, Spend Analysis including ABC, provides the category manager, with spend visibility.
Spend Analysis and procurement metrics are used to create category plans, build supplier relation-ships, to maintain service levels and deliver the best possible price and quality for goods and ser-vices bought. The acquisition of Spend data and subsequent Spend Analysis, provides Category Managers access to a well-structured procurement process, Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.1

Kanban (看板) (signboard or billboard in Japanese) is a scheduling system for lean manufacturing and just-in-time manufacturing (JIT).
Poka-yoke (ポカヨケ, [poka yoke]) is a Japanese term that means “mistake-proofing” or “inadvertent error prevention”. A poka-yoke is any mechanism in any process that helps an equipment operator avoid (yokeru) mistakes (poka). Its purpose is to eliminate product defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur.
Kaizen is a concept referring to business activities that continuously improve all functions and involve all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers. Kaizen (改善) is the Sino-Japanese word for “improvement”. Kaizen also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logis-tics, that cross organizational boundaries into the supply chain.
Muda (無駄, on’yomi reading) is a Japanese word meaning “futility; uselessness; wastefulness”, and is a key concept in lean process thinking, like the Toyota Production System (TPS) as one of the three types of deviation from optimal allocation of resources (the others being mura and muri). Waste reduction is an effective way to increase profitability.
Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.3

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. ISBN is standardised by ISO 2108:2017. ISBN is an example of industry standard code as it applies to commercial books around the world.
Check digits are additional numbers or characters added to codes that a computer uses to verify the number is valid. The intention is to reduce the likelihood of miskeying an item and hitting an alternative live item. More often, a system is devised which a computer can calculate using combination of numbers.
Own product code system: an organisation will use its own product code system. This has the ad-vantage that the organisation can construct a code that is effective and fits with its software and variety of items covered.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, also known as the Harmonized System (HS) of tariff nomenclature is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers to classify traded products. It came into effect in 1988 and has since been developed and maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO) (formerly the Customs Co-operation Council), an independent intergovernmental organization based in Brussels, Belgium, with over 200 member countries.
Reference:
LO 1, AC 1.2

Tote box is the reusable storage box. These can be open or have lids or flaps to close them and come in a large variety of sizes and weight loadings.

A tote is ideal for holding and hauling items such as: tools, fasteners, bark dust, dry cement, cords, wires, smaller boxes,…
Pallets are the platform structures designed to support a load and be lifted using the forks (typically seen on forklift trucks and other equipment). These are in a variety of standard sizes and can be made of many materials including plastics, resin, board or timber. Pallets are not containers, but support platforms.

Bar racks are designed to store bars and pipes

Stock cages are available in many sizes and can hold single items or groups of items

Reference:
LO 1, AC 1.1

In the scenario, one of the requirements for the new software is that the new one will interface with current system. Compatibility testing would be the most appropriate test here.
There are also other acceptance tests that are mentioned in L4M7 study guide:
– Health and safety test aims at establishing new health and safety routines, providing guidance notices and documentation and ensuring designed-in safety in operation.
– Stress testing (sometimes called torture testing) is a form of deliberately intense or thorough testing used to determine the stability of a given system, critical infrastructure or entity. It involves testing beyond normal operational capacity, often to a breaking point, in order to observe the results.
– A dry run (or a practice run) is a testing process where the effects of a possible failure are inten-tionally mitigated. For example, an aerospace company may conduct a “dry run” test of a jet’s new pilot ejection seat while the jet is parked on the ground, rather than while it is in flight.
The usage of “dry run” in acceptance procedures (for example in the so-called FAT = factory ac-ceptance testing) is meant as following: the factory – which is a subcontractor – must perform a complete test of the system it has to deliver before the actual acceptance by customer.
Reference:
LO 3, AC 3.1

There are different types of maintenance that organizations use to increase the uptime of their assets and utility of their facilities. Based on an organization’s budget, amount of resources, level of combined experience, and maintenance goals, one or more maintenance types are used.
Proactive types of maintenance
Preventive maintenance
Preventive maintenance is the most popular type of proactive maintenance. To start conducting preventive maintenance tasks (PMs), an organization does not need to purchase new technology if it already has a CMMS. This is not the case with predictive maintenance which requires condition monitoring sensors and new software integrations. However, with preventive maintenance, the or-ganization runs the risk of over-scheduling maintenance tasks because tasks are scheduled based on time rather than actual conditions. That said, preventive maintenance achieves 12% to 18% cost savings over reactive maintenance.
Predictive maintenance
Predictive maintenance (PdM) is what savvy maintenance teams aspire to have or are already im-plementing. The major barrier to PdM is the time it takes to implement rather than the cost of the technology itself. For instance, a vibration sensor that can identify imbalance, misalignment, and resonance issues only costs around $200. But the time it takes to install, integrate with other maintenance software, and adopt a culture around is not time that all organizations are willing to allocate. For those that do allocate the time, PdM provides an 8% to 12% cost savings over preventive maintenance.
Condition-based maintenance
Condition-based maintenance (CBM) is at the core of predictive maintenance but, on its own, does not rely on technology to determine the condition of an asset like PdM does. For instance, a manager may instruct an operator to monitor the condition of an asset and submit a work request when a specific condition is met. This approach may, or may not be, as reliable as predictive maintenance. An organization that has highly-trained operators may spot hazardous conditions better than an organization using PdM technology that doesn’t know what to look for.
Scheduled maintenance
Scheduled maintenance includes work that is scheduled on a calendar for completion. The most common type of scheduled maintenance is calendar-based preventive maintenance tasks. These are scheduled well in advance of completion. For instance, an asset with a monthly PM has twelve instances of scheduled maintenance in a given year. However, just because maintenance is scheduled does not mean it’s planned. Planned maintenance implies that a maintenance planner or other type of maintenance worker has fully planned for parts, materials, skills, and other resources to be available during the scheduled time window.
Planned maintenance
Planned maintenance is work that’s prepared for in advance of it taking place. According to an UpKeep survey, it’s also the most popular key performance indicator (KPI) to track. A high planned maintenance percentage indicates that a maintenance team will have resources available to complete work for the time/day the work is scheduled for. Having a high planned maintenance percentage also helps boost other maintenance KPIs like schedule compliance. More planned maintenance means more successful completion of scheduled maintenance.
Routine maintenance
Routine maintenance is a form of time-based maintenance and preventive maintenance, though some organizations differentiate between routine maintenance and preventive maintenance. They use the latter for smaller tasks (i.e. cleaning) performed at higher frequencies (hourly, daily) and the former for larger tasks (i.e. inspections) performed at lower frequencies (weekly, monthly, annually). Additionally, routine maintenance is performed by operators, janitors, and other staff member while preventive maintenance is performed by technicians. Non-routine maintenance includes maintenance that is performed reactively or only when needed based on an asset’s conditions.
Reactive types of maintenance
Emergency maintenance
Emergency maintenance occurs when an asset requires immediate attention in order to keep a facility operational or safe. This is the most reactive and intrusive type of maintenance as it pulls technicians away from other jobs and lowers schedule compliance. In extreme circumstances, emergency maintenance can set an organization back days depending on the scope of the repair, available parts, and the asset’s level of importance. To reduce the amount of emergency maintenance that is both unplanned and unscheduled, organizations adopt various forms of proactive maintenance.
Corrective maintenance
Corrective maintenance is inherently part of emergency maintenance because, when there is an emergency, something needs corrected or fixed. In this way, corrective maintenance is mostly reactive. However, it can also be proactive. If an asset with a condition monitoring sensor detects an issue, a work order is created and a technician is sent to correct it. Similarly, preventive maintenance is considered corrective maintenance if there is an issue to fix. This is rare though as PMs are often conducted when an asset is in good working order.
Other types of maintenance
Deferred maintenance
Deferred maintenance includes repairs and inspections that are put into a backlog due to limited budget and resources. While deferring maintenance saves money up front, the costs of not performing important maintenance compounds at 7% annually. Rising costs come from fines resulting from missed inspections and unscheduled downtime that brings production to a standstill. By far, deferred maintenance and emergency maintenance are the least desired types of maintenance.
Total productive maintenance
Total productive maintenance (TPM) is the broadest type of maintenance that targets more than the assets that need maintained. It also aims to improve employee satisfaction and overall morale in the workplace, specifically in manufacturing plants. TPM does this by increasing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and the amount of planned maintenance. More planned work means more workers have the resources they need to do their job, which means higher levels of satisfaction. TPM also leverages machine operators to participate in maintenance and take ownership of their equipment.
Reference:
Types of Maintenance – Upkeep
CIPS study guide page 158-159
LO 3, AC 3.1

The total cost of storage consists of two different costs:
– The cost of warehouses: each one has a different cost, and each has the cost of stock-holding and stock management included
– The transport costs: the total transport cost reduces as further warehouses mean shorter final delivery to the customers.
Depending on each situation, the optimal number of warehouses varies. Generally, more facilities will increase the cost of warehouses while reduce the transport costs and vice versa.
Reference:
LO 1, AC 1.1

Fixed assets may be sold anytime during their useful life. This gives rise to the need to derecognize the asset from balance sheet and recognize any resulting gain or loss in the income statement.
The accounting for disposal of fixed assets can be summarized as follows:
– Record cash receive or the receivable created from the sale:
Debit Cash/Receivable
– Remove the asset from the balance sheet
Credit Fixed Asset (Net Book Value)
– Recognize the resulting gain or loss
Debit/Credit Gain or Loss (Income Statement)
Example
ABC LTD purchased a machine for $2000 on 1st January 2001 which had a useful life of 5 years and an estimated residual value of $500. The machine was being depreciated on straight line basis. However, ABC LTD decided to sell the asset on1 January 2003 for $1500 in order to raise cash for the purchase of a new machine.
The disposal of the fixed asset will be recorded as follows:
Record cash received or the receivable arising from the sale:
Debit Cash $1,500
Remove the asset from the balance sheet
As a fixed asset is recognized in the balance sheet at the Net Book Value (i.e. Cost less Accumulated Depreciation), the machine will be removed from the accounts of ABC LTD in two parts:
First, the Machine Cost must be removed by crediting the ledger:
Credit Machine Cost $2,500
Second, the Accumulated Depreciation in respect of the machine must be removed by debiting the ledger:
Debit Accumalated Depreciation $600*
*Accumulated Depreciation: (2000 – 500)/5 x 2 Years
The combined effect of the above two transactions would be to remove the machine’s net book value of $1400 (2000 – 600) from the balance sheet.
Recognize the resulting gain or loss on the sale of machine
ABC LTD received $1500 for an asset with a balance sheet worth of $1400. It therefore earned a gain of $100. The gain will be recorded as follows:
Credit Gain on Disposal $100
Reference:
– Accounting for Disposals
– CIPS study guide page 197-198
LO 3, AC 3.3

A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee (user) to pay the lessor (owner) for use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial or business equipment is also leased. Since the lessee does not own the asset, it is not responsible for disposing the assets, and therefore, disposal costs are not attributable to the lessee. The lessee usually incurs rentals and operating costs. Finally, a company should treat the lease the same as other contracts, which they must qualify the supplier.
Reference:
LO 3, AC 3.1

Warehouse dock is a feature of warehouse design – used for unloading and loading vehicles. It is crucial to carefully design where they are externally located in a facility and choose the best type of dock depending on the available space.
In many cases efficient and effective loading and unloading is achieved by a dock design that places the loading and unloading vehicle’ rear platform at the same height as the warehouse floor.
Slopes in docking areas must always be as small as possible: the gentler the slope, the less chance of errors and accidents. If a warehouse is going to be used by large volume vehicles, such as high cubes, it may be necessary to install special devices, such as hydraulically adjustable docks or ground level lift platforms.
Current trends indicate that vehicles that are longer and wider and have a greater volume will be increasingly common. Therefore, when planning the location of the docks, it would be useful to ensure that there is a large area for the approach, manoeuvring and build-up of large vehicles.
One option to increase the efficiency of the docks is to combine reception and dispatch into a single area (dual use). This solution drastically reduces costs and, above all, increases the use of handling equipment and personnel. However, if this is justified by the volume of material flows, there can also be separate access points for each function (some for reception and others for dispatch – ‘sole use’).
Reference:
– Warehouse docking areas – Interlake
– CIPS study guide page 13
LO 1, AC 1.1