how i help

Helping manufacturers, food processors, and product businesses turn inventory from a cost of doing business into a strategic differentiator

The environments our businesses and supply chains operate in are no longer linear or predictable. They are complex, interconnected, and increasingly volatile. Variability is no longer the exception. It is the norm.

Most inventory and supply chain problems are not caused by one bad forecast. Yet many organisations continue to chase forecast accuracy as the primary solution, despite the fact that all forecasts are inherently flawed.

In an uncertain environment, resilience comes not from prediction, but from design.

Just as a smooth-looking road still requires suspension and shock absorbers, supply chains need deliberate buffers and control points to absorb variability without damaging service, cost, or cash. Inventory plays a critical role in that system when it is designed and governed properly.

Why traditional approaches fail

Traditional, forecast-driven approaches often leave planners and leaders reacting to demand swings rather than managing them. The result is familiar:

• Too much of the wrong stock and not enough of the right

• Expediting and premium freight becoming routine

• Inventory targets set and quietly forgotten

• Min/max levels, reorder points, and safety stock no one trusts

• Critical planning and decision-making living in spreadsheets

These are not execution failures. They are system design problems.

What inventory management actually is

Inventory management is more than how stock is controlled in a system or warehouse.

It is a set of deliberate decisions made to balance service levels, investment, cash, and risk across planning, manufacturing, distribution, and supply.

When I work with a business on inventory management, the focus extends well beyond numbers and settings. The work looks at four core dimensions:

Management
How inventory decisions align to service intent, demand profiles, and planning horizons.

Control
How inventory is reviewed, adjusted, and managed through clear rules and exception-based processes.

Risk
How stockouts, obsolescence, lead time variability, and single points of failure are actively managed.

Governance
Who owns inventory decisions, how changes are made, and how trade-offs are escalated across operations, supply chain, and finance.

How I work

I works closely with founders, leaders, and operational teams to build sustainable capability within the supply chain. The aim is not dependency, but clarity, confidence, and repeatable decision-making.

Typical engagements begin with a Supply Chain Maturity Assessment to establish a baseline and define the scope of work. From there, value stream and process mapping is used to understand how work and inventory actually flow through the business, identifying where constraints, delays, and waste exist.

Implementation is carried out alongside the team, with a strong emphasis on coaching, capability development, and embedding practices that continue after the engagement ends.

Common areas of focus

While every business is different, engagement deliverables often include:

• Supply chain and planning methodology

• Inventory analysis and segmentation

• Inventory optimisation and policy reset

• Working capital and cash release

• Spare parts inventory for maintenance and engineering

• Production planning and scheduling

These elements are treated as part of a connected system, not standalone initiatives.

Outcomes clients typically see

Through this work, clients typically achieve:

• Improved service levels and availability

• Reduced excess and obsolete inventory

• Fewer expedites and stockouts

• Clearer ownership and decision-making

• Better alignment between supply chain, operations, and finance

• A reduction in overall inventory investment

Next step

If inventory continues to feel like a source of frustration rather than control, I can help clarify what is actually driving it and what to address first.