Push System

Push System

The push system of inventory control involves forecasting inventory needs to meet customer demand. Companies must predict which products customers will purchase along with determining what quantity of goods will be purchased. The company will in turn produce enough product to meet the forecast demand and sell, or push, the goods to the consumer. Disadvantages of the push inventory control system are that forecasts are often inaccurate as sales can be unpredictable and vary from one year to the next. Another problem with push inventory control systems is that if too much product is left in inventory. This increases the company's costs for storing these goods. An advantage to the push system is that the company is fairly assured it will have enough product on hand to complete customer orders, preventing the inability to meet customer demand for the product.

An example of a push system is Materials Requirements Planning, or MRP. MRP combines the calculations for financial, operations and logistics planning. It is a computer-based information system which controls scheduling and ordering. It's purpose is to make sure raw goods and materials needed for production are available when they are needed.

Pull System

The pull inventory control system begins with a customer's order. With this strategy, companies only make enough product to fulfill customer's orders. One advantage to the system is that there will be no excess of inventory that needs to be stored, thus reducing inventory levels and the cost of carrying and storing goods. However, one major disadvantage to the pull system is that it is highly possible to run into ordering dilemmas, such as a supplier not being able to get a shipment out on time. This leaves the company unable to fulfill the order and contributes to customer dissatisfaction.

An example of a pull inventory control system is the just-in-time, or JIT system. The goal is to keep inventory levels to a minimum by only having enough inventory, not more or less, to meet customer demand. The JIT system eliminates waste by reducing the am

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