In today’s highly competitive environment, a major part of expanding a business successfully is to keep track of new and emerging technologies that will revolutionize the niche a business is in. Future of inventory management requires integration of inventory with accounting software’s and CRM. Mobile technologies help to update the current level of inventory on real time basis. Inventory management is a high-level process that is not at the mercy of other function’s doings; it should be well-integrated into other supply chain planning processes including sales forecast, production and operations planning, master production scheduling, warehousing throughput and supply action management. Inventory managers should support multiple business objectives and should have business integrated targets related to inventory levels, customer service levels, total inventory cost, and inventory quality.

The inventory manager needs to act like an air traffic controller, effectively collaborating with his management peers to guide and coordinate their processes together in a way that leads to optimized inventory results. They should be able to update safety stock and order policy settings, and they should be able to collaborate on improvement initiatives related to lead-time optimization, supply and demand variability, and supply chain agility. It’s important for the inventory manager to have strong analytic skills and a deep understanding of the principles of inventory and supply chain management. As a successful inventory manager, he will understand how to meet his targets without negative consequences in other areas of the business. The company should support the inventory manager with access to continuous learning resources and development courses to ensure they stay current and can take advantage of recent industry advancements.