Blog

MRO inventory: the spare parts nobody counts until something breaks

The parts, tools and supplies that keep equipment and buildings running. Why maintenance stock goes missing, what to record for each part, and where minimums belong.

Asset check-in and check-out: what the sign-out sheet never tells you

A clipboard by the storeroom door works until somebody asks which projector is the good one. What a checkout record actually has to carry, why overdue is a people problem, and the one question that decides whether you need software at all.

Reorder points, and why yours is not firing

The formula is arithmetic. Getting honest lead times, and having something actually tell you when stock crosses the threshold, is the part that goes wrong.

What a lot number is, and why you cannot always read one

A lot number identifies a production run, not an individual item. There is no universal format, so here is what the common patterns mean and where to find the code.

What a small business actually needs from an ERP

Most ERP sold to small businesses is an enterprise system with the price filed off. Here is what the category is for, and how to size what you need.

Your inventory spreadsheet is fine, until these five things happen

What belongs in an inventory spreadsheet, and the five specific points where one stops being able to do the job. Useful even if you never switch.

Cycle counting, and how to stop closing for a day to count everything

Count a small slice every day instead of shutting down once a year. What to count, how often, and why the variance matters more than the count.

What kitting is, and what it does to your stock count

Combining separate items into one thing you sell. The definition takes a sentence. What it does to your inventory count is the part worth reading.

Lot traceability, and what a recall actually asks of you

A recall is a deadline. The work that makes one survivable happens months earlier, at receiving, on an ordinary day when nothing is wrong.

Plumbing inventory management: taming vans, warehouses and job sites

The top 5 inventory management mistakes (and the boring fixes that work)

Nonprofit inventory tracking that satisfies the board and the grant report

Small details, big consequences: why unit-level inventory tracking pays off