Inventory Benchmarking Vertical Sector Trends

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A critical benchmark for inventory management. Inventory Benchmarking Vertical Sector Trends compares many of the world’s leading manufacturers and retailers against key financial supply chain metrics.

In particular it:

  • Defines the key ratios available from financial disclosures
  • Conducts a by-industry vertical sector analysis of inventory management and benchmarking data for the high tech, automotive, retail, pharmaceutical, fashion and consumer goods industries
  • Examines the supply chain and inventory management strategies of selected blue chip companies with reference to these benchmarks
  • Where available, examines the different types of inventory held by these companies and how these have changed
  • Compares and contrasts the performance of these companies.

 

Inventory Benchmarking Vertical Sector Trends also includes exclusive access to an online data pack with interactive charts, tables and downloadable data.

This report contains:

  • Inventory management strategies across key vertical sectors
  • Supply chain strategies of the most influential manufacturers and retailers
  • Analysis of supply chain performance by key ratios available from financial disclosures
  • Compares inventory management performance by core benchmarks 
  • Exclusive access to an online data pack with interactive charts, tables and downloadable data.

This report contains:

  • Inventory management strategies across key vertical sectors
  • Supply chain strategies of the most influential manufacturers and retailers
  • Analysis of supply chain performance by key ratios available from financial disclosures
  • Compares inventory management performance by core benchmarks 
  • Exclusive access to an online data pack with interactive charts, tables and downloadable data.

Key questions the report answers

  • How are benchmarks calculated and what do they mean?
  • Why are lean inventory supply chains considered advantageous?
  • Are companies still focused on reducing inventory?
  • Which sectors and companies have highest and lowest days inventory? 
  • How do you quantify improvements in the operational and financial performance of retailers and manufacturers?

Exclusive highlights

  • By-industry vertical sector analysis of inventory management and benchmarking data for the high tech, automotive, retail, pharmaceutical, fashion and consumer goods industries
  • Analysis of supply chain and inventory management strategies adopted by selected blue chip companies, and a comparison of the performance of these companies
  • Inventory management strategies and key trends within each vertical sector
  • Analysis of 'Inventory Turnover’ and ‘Days of Supply in Inventory’

Do you need to benchmark and optimize your own inventory strategy?

Ti Consultancy can help benchmark and optimize your inventory management and supply chain strategy.

Our team of consultants is made up of professionals with many years of experience working in their particular sector to optimize supply chain strategy.

To speak to one of our industry experts please contact Michael Clover [email protected] who will be happy to connect you with one of our consultancy teams.

 

Professor John Manners-Bell
John is Chief Executive of Ti, Honorary Visiting Professor at the London Metropolitan University’s Guildhall Faculty of Business and Law and an adviser to the World Economic Forum. He has over 25 years’ experience working in and analysing the global logistics sector. 
 
 
 
 
 
Andy Ralls
Andy is a quantitative analyst at Ti. He graduated from the University of Southampton with a Mathematics with Finance degree in 2014. In his studies, he chose a final year project on actuarial modelling and forecasting and enjoyed modules on statistical distribution theory, financial mathematics and macroeconomics.
 
 
 
 
 
Tony Walford
Tony is a supply chain professional with over 30 years’ experience in the sector. After working in operational supply chain management with Xerox Corp, he held senior management and Board Level roles with companies in the fields of Freight Forwarding (MSAS UK, Uniserve Scotland), 3rd Party Logistics (DHL, UPS SCS, ZIM Logistics), Supply Chain Technology (including the world’s first cloud-based supply chain visibility system Sourceree) and consultancy (LCP Consulting, Supply Solutions). He has served on the Board of Directors of companies in the UK, USA, Switzerland, India, Russia, China, Hong Kong and Jamaica and has enjoyed expat assignments in Belgium and Switzerland.
 
 
 
Zen Yaworsky

A long career in retail supply chain operations with a major global retailer has given Zen an expertise in strategic supply chain change management and operational detail. He was responsible for transforming the supply chain for Marks and Spencer PLC its over 400 suppliers in 5 continents. He is practiced in setting up and operating supply chain operations in the Far East, South Asia, Middle East, and Turkey, and has developed logistics and distribution hubs servicing UK and international markets. He has acted as a consultant to major UK and European retail customers on matters of supply chain transformation and has undertaken board level coaching on matters of procurement and supply chain optimisation, and develops advanced negotiating skills within senior management teams of international companies. Zen is visiting lecturer at Westminster University in the UK on matters of fashion industry supply chain and business administration.

 

Key Findings   7

  1. Introduction 10

Supply Chain Management and Company Performance   11

The key benchmarks     12

Increasing inventory levels   14

Industry sector performance  17

Industry sector DSI progression  18

Cross-industry upper quintile DSI   19

Cross-industry lower quintile DSI   20

  1. High Tech 21

2.1 High Tech: Consumer Electronics  22

  Company DSI: Ten lowest   23

  Most days added/reduced   24

  Dell   25

  Hewlett Packard   28

  Lenovo   31

  Apple   34

  Selected company comparisons   38

  Inventory metric comparisons   39

  Conclusion   40

  DSI Table   41

2.2 High Tech: Other  42

  Inventory strategy overview: Contract Manufacturing    43

  Inventory strategy overview: Semiconductors   45

  Company DSI: Ten lowest   47

  Sector DSI average progression   48

  Most days added/reduced in past 10 years   49

  Cisco  50

  Jabil   52

  Western Digital   56

  DSI Table   58

3.0 Retail   59

  Inventory trends – the impact of e-retail   60  Amazon   63

3.1 Retail: Department Stores   67

  Average DSI   68

  Most days added/reduced in past 10 years   69

  John Lewis   70

  Sears   72

  Macy’s   74

  Nordstrom   75

  DSI Table   77

3.2 Retail: Supermarkets   78

  Introduction   79

  Trends in DSI   80

  Walmart   81

 

  Marks & Spencer   85

  Aldi   87

  Tesco   89

  Carrefour   91

  DSI Table   93

  Conclusion   94

4. Pharmaceutical 95

Inventory management in pharmaceuticals   96

Most days added/reduced in past 10 years  99

DSI meaning for the industry   100

Johnson & Johnson   101

GSK   102

Pfizer   104

Conclusion   106

DSI Table   107

  1. Automotive 108

Inventory trend   109

Company DSI: Ten lowest   110

Toyota   111

Volkswagen   114

Ford   117

Tesla   120

Conclusion   125

DSI Table   126

  1. Fashion 127

Inventory strategy overview   128

Inventory strategy overview – Fast Fashion   130

Inventory strategy overview – Luxury Brands   131

Company DSI: Ten lowest   132

Sector DSI Average progression   133

Most days added/reduced in past 10 years   134

Inditex   135

Adidas   137

Superdry   139

DSI Table   140

  1. Consumer Goods 141

Inventory strategy overview  142

Ten lowest DSI   145

Most days added/reduced in past 10 years   146

Selected manufacturers   147

Unilever   149

Procter & Gamble   151

Kimberley-Clark   154

Conclusion   157

DSI Table   160

Inventory levels see decade long rise, says new Ti report.

June 25th 2019, London, UK: It could be assumed that several decades after supply chain management practices such as ‘lean’, ‘build-to-order’ and ‘just-in-time’ became accepted across industry, inventory levels would have seen a steady and inexorable decline.

However, the latest report by Transport Intelligence, Inventory Benchmarking Vertical Sector Trends, has found that the stock held by manufacturers and retailers, as measured by Days of Supply in Inventory (DSI), has actually risen over the past ten years.

This data, based on the financial reports of 187 manufacturers and retailers located around the world reveals that, on average, companies in 2017 were holding 10 more days stock than in 2008: increasing from 80 to 90 days.​ The research also found that the retail industry operates with the lowest average DSI: 33 days in 2017. At the other end of the spectrum, the pharmaceutical sector operates with an average of 186 days.

According to one of the authors of the report, Professor John Manners-Bell, this indicates that reducing inventory levels is just one of a number of competing goals for many companies. “Despite the textbooks telling us that inventory reduction should be the main goal for supply chain managers, the present market environment requires a far more sophisticated approach, balancing a range of important objectives.”

Examples of this new approach include Walmart, which now regards the availability of stock to purchase by consumers as a major factor in its existential battle with Amazon, despite the inevitable consequence of higher inventory.​ Lenovo and Hewlett Packard took a similar approach to building up inventory in order to maintain product availability in physical stores in contrast with Dell’s lean inventory strategy.​ Risk is also a factor, as companies seek to avoid the supply chain problems they faced after a number of high profile disruptive events in the early part of the decade, such as the Thai floods and Japanese tsunami.

Co-author, Andy Ralls, added, “A focus on achieving an appropriate amount of inventory is and always will be hugely important to efficient supply chain management. However, as our research shows, competing priorities, be they driven by e-commerce, changing customer demands, product development, risk or even regulatory requirements, have caused many companies to fundamentally assess their supply chain strategies.”

About Inventory Benchmarking Vertical Sector Trends

A critical benchmark for inventory management. Inventory Benchmarking Vertical Sector Trends compares many of the world’s leading manufacturers and retailers against key financial supply chain metrics.

In particular it:

  • Defines the key ratios available from financial disclosures
  • Conducts a by-industry vertical sector analysis of inventory management and benchmarking data for the high tech, automotive, retail, pharmaceutical, fashion and consumer goods industries
  • Examines the supply chain and inventory management strategies of selected blue chip companies with reference to these benchmarks
  • Where available, examines the different types of inventory held by these companies and how these have changed
  • Compares and contrasts the performance of these companies.

The report also includes exclusive access to an online data pack with interactive charts, tables and downloadable data.

Find out more about the report by clicking here

About Ti: Transport Intelligence (Ti) is the leading source of market research and intelligence for the global supply chain and logistics industry. Since its founding in 2002, the company has delivered a range of research products and consulting solutions to the world’s largest retailers, banks, consultancies, shipping lines and logistics providers, and become trusted advisors to global institutions such as the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, the UN and the European Commission.

For any enquiries, please contact Ti’s Head of Commercial Development, Michael Clover +44 (0) 1666 519907 [email protected]

Web: ti-insight.com

Twitter: @Ti_insight

Linkedin: The Transport Intelligence Forum

 

This report is perfect for:

  • Business Development teams of LSPs
  • Global manufacturers and retailers
  • Banks and financial institutions
  • Supply chain managers and directors
  • Marketing managers
  • Knowledge managers
  • Investors
  • All C-level executives