Book Order Form | Table of Contents | Preface | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Appendix A | Appendix B | Glossary

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    I want to thank all of the manufacturing people who have contributed to my knowledge and philosophy of Inventory. Many of them are the unsung heroes of their companies. They are the people in the trenches who actually produce the products that bring in the income that benefits all the employees, directors and stockholders in the form of salaries and profits.

    I also want to thank Betty Porter, renowned writer, who after listening to my idea for the book, though not an expert on inventory, suggested the title.

    I owe special thanks to my daughter, Susan, and my daughter-in-law, Cathy, for their patience with me in typing my notes over and over again.

    I particularly want to thank Alyn Warren, my editor, who was able to get into my mind and work from my scribblings and cryptic notes to edit and layout the book.

PREFACE

    This book, Will the Real Inventory Please Stand Up and Be Counted, attempts to define subtleties and idiosyncrasies of planning, managing and controlling a manufacturing inventory.

    The ten million dollar revenue level presents an immense challenge to companies. In recent years as a management consultant, I have come across countless start-ups and even established companies trying to accelerate their growth in order to bust this barrier.

    I maintain that a major culture change is required by the management and company to attain this goal. The key to accomplishing this change is having the right mind-set. In this context, the mind-set involves Priority, Perspective and Perceptions.

    The aim of my books, newsletter, management seminars and mentoring consulting practice is to help clients, readers and students attain this mind-set.

    Although the material presented in this book is more directly related to businesses operating below the ten million barrier, I do believe companies of all sizes can benefit from my philosophy and theories. In fact, when it comes to inventory problems, the large companies far out strip the small companies in the size of their problems. Even so, when it comes to impact the big companies can weather inventory write-offs of hundreds of millions of dollars, while one big unresolved inventory problem can devastate a small company.

    I do not profess to be an expert, but I do profess to be an observer. So listen to my observations which are based on years of experience, and accept that there is more than one way to do things. Actually listen to how I have done things wrong as well as right, if only to enable you to avoid the same mistakes. Then, if I have challenged your mind-set and encouraged you to consider alternatives, I have accomplished my task.

Dick Dadamo