Piasecki, D J. Inventory Accuracy: People, Processes, & Technology Essay (Book Review)

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Introduction

This book looks at the inventory accuracy, inventory theories, and how they get integrated within inventory and warehouse management. The author of this book shows his many years of experience in warehousing and inventory control. The author presents his approach in a playful manner to make readers enjoy reading the book.

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The book is easy to read and has excellent tips that guide the readers to understand it very well. Plant managers and people working in inventory control management can benefit a lot from this book. The author discusses all operations and activities that take place in the warehouse, and inventory control businesses.

Analysis

The book starts by making or helping readers to understand the factors that lead to the occurrence of errors. It ends with error-resistant processes, technology use, motivation of employees, and appropriate measures for continuous improvement in the workplace. The book also includes information about employee training, an important concept in operations management.

The author covers many topics in operations management, supply chain management, operations research, and industrial engineering in a comprehensive manner. The author provides reasons why many standard solutions do not provide relevant results, and offers remedies to these barriers. He focuses on practical solutions of conflicting priorities that affect inventory accuracy.

These practices do not only look good in the book, but also in the real world operations, warehouses, and in inventory control businesses. As earlier mentioned, individuals responsible for the integrity of their organization’s inventory should read this book because it offers the best insights about inventory management. The book also contains valuable clues and tactics for both the new and seasoned warehouse controllers. It addresses how the current technology can be integrated in warehouses and inventory management.

How the book relates to operations management

Operations management describes how managers oversee, design, and control production processes. It also looks at how they re-design business operations as they produce goods, and deliver services. Operations management ensures that all processes and operations in business get aligned with the primary goals of organizations, which is to satisfy the needs of their customers.

This involves avoiding errors and mistakes, training employees (people), and motivating them to focus on helping organizations achieve their basic goals. Similarly, the author of the book looks at the errors made in warehouses and in inventory control businesses (Piasecki 151). For instance, the book offers readers with detailed sections on accuracy measurements, cycle counting, warehouse management systems, count variances, and a combination of count-logic selections to create a count among others.

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The author discusses accuracy measurement, audits, exception reporting, and data analysis as a way to curb errors that occur in warehouses and inventory businesses. The author also looks at employee training and motivation. In training employees, the book offers warehouse or inventory control managers with insights on the phases they should follow and the benefits for training employees.

The book also discusses the benefits of motivating employees in the workplace. For instance, it mentions that when managers motivate employees, they raise their morale, and hence this creates a high performance workplace. This leads to improved productivity of warehouses, or inventory control businesses. All these confirm that the book relates to operation management.

How the book relates to operations research

The author also links his book with operations research. Operations research involves applying diagnostic methods to help managers in wise decision-making. This discipline relates to industrial engineering and operational management. It determines the maximum profit, performance, and production of organizations.

It also determines the minimum loss, risk, and costs that organizations incur in the real world operations. Similarly, the book provides inventory and warehouse managers with practical experiences in inventory and warehouse management in real life situations (Piasecki 265). For instance, the information in the book about accuracy measurements, cycle counting, periodic physical inventories, and technology systems can help managers to make wise decisions while running their respective organizations.

I would recommend managers particularly those in control of inventory and warehouses to read this book because it provides readers with tips and tactics of arriving at wise decisions. The book is long, but not boring at all. The author has used comprehensive terms that contribute to the easy understanding of the concepts of warehousing and inventory control.

How the book relates to supply chain management

The author has also linked the book with supply chain management. This discipline involves managing the flow of goods from suppliers to buyers through supply channels, or supply chain networks. Managers in this field design, plan, execute, control, and monitor activities in the supply chain.

The discipline majors in logistics, information technology, and logistics among other areas. Supply chain management addresses issues in information and inventory management. For instance, it integrates information systems to ensure that relevant groups share valuable information. In his book, Piasecki mentions integration of automotive systems, voice systems, and software technologies among other systems.

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He discusses the benefits of integrating information systems in inventory control and warehouses. The book focuses on inventory management more than any other discipline. The same case applies to supply chain management, which addresses issues in inventory management by providing insights on managing the quantity and location of inventory. This connection affirms that the book relates to supply chain management.

How the book relates to industrial engineering

The book relates to industrial engineering. This discipline deals with optimization of complex systems. Industrial engineering has a close connection with disciplines such as supply chain management, operations research, and operations management discussed above. It helps managers to develop, improve, implement, and evaluate systems in their operations.

In Chapter 8 of this book, ‘Tools, Equipment, & Technology’, the author describes how managers integrate technology systems in inventory management (Piasecki 195). The author discusses topics such as light directed systems, full automation of systems, integration, software technologies, warehouse management systems, and locator systems among others. This affirms that there is a close connection of the author’s information and industrial engineering.

Recommendations & conclusion

This book is well written and is targeted to practitioners or managers working in warehouses. The book is diverse. It covers many disciplines such as operations management, operations research and systems, manufacturing, and industrial engineering among others.

Therefore, any manager who happens to read this book becomes proficient in these areas. As mentioned above, the author puts inventory control theories in practice/action making inventory control managers reflect themselves in their respective workplaces. There is a section in the book that looks at what machines and human beings do best (Piasecki 247). This chapter provides readers with an understanding of the need for collaboration between human beings and machines in making work easier, cheaper, and efficient.

However, the book needs to be up-dated. Its copyright date is 2003. Considering that a lot has changed since its publication, it should be revised to reflect the current trends in warehouse and inventory management. This will assist individuals currently working in warehouses to eliminate inefficiencies.

Works Cited

Piasecki, D J. Inventory Accuracy: People, Processes, & Technology. Kenosha, Wis: OPS Publishing, 2003. Print.

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"Piasecki, D J. Inventory Accuracy: People, Processes, & Technology." IvyPanda, 12 Jan. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/piasecki-d-j-inventory-accuracy-people-processes-technology/.

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IvyPanda. (2020) 'Piasecki, D J. Inventory Accuracy: People, Processes, & Technology'. 12 January.

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IvyPanda. 2020. "Piasecki, D J. Inventory Accuracy: People, Processes, & Technology." January 12, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/piasecki-d-j-inventory-accuracy-people-processes-technology/.

1. IvyPanda. "Piasecki, D J. Inventory Accuracy: People, Processes, & Technology." January 12, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/piasecki-d-j-inventory-accuracy-people-processes-technology/.


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IvyPanda. "Piasecki, D J. Inventory Accuracy: People, Processes, & Technology." January 12, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/piasecki-d-j-inventory-accuracy-people-processes-technology/.

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