Peter Drucker, the foremost author and expert on enterprise and self-management, and one whom I am sure everyone reading this has probably heard of, stated, "We know little more about distribution today than Napoleon's contemporaries knew about the interior of Africa." I found out just how true this was when I was gathering information for this article. I began by searching to see what other experts had to say about maintaining an accurate inventory. About one week after beginning my search, I was no closer than when I started, so I decided to talk to people in the industry and ask them three simple questions:

1. What are your currently doing to maintain the accuracy of your inventory?
   
   
2. Is what you are currently doing working?
   
   
3. If what you are currently doing is not working then why haven't you changed?

You know what the interesting thing was? Everyone answered number 1 and number 2, but when it came to number 3, I ended up right back where I started: scratching my head and saying, "I can't believe since inventory is one of an organization's greatest asset, why do most companies do so little to maintain it?"

There are some interesting things about inventory that I am sure everyone knows, but before I get to the nineteen steps I'm going to reiterate some key points about inventory.

• Distribution inventory values range between 6 percent and 20 percent of the company's annual revenue.
  
  
• An inaccurate inventory causes several problems: lost sales, decreases in profitability, and lost productivity from searching for products.
  
  
• Companies use inventory as a security blanket to cover deficiencies in their warehouse.

Given all of this, the only thing you really need to know is that it takes $2,500 in new sales to make up $100 in lost inventory, assuming a 4 percent return. I don't think I am the only one in our industry who knows this, but if I am not, then why are so few people talking about how to control the accuracy of their inventory? Think about how much having an inaccurate inventory costing you and your organization.

Again, your inventory is one of the biggest, if not the largest investment you have in your company. The only thing that comes close to it is your people. But you know what I have learned over the years? People do what you inspect and not what you expect! Most leaders expect their people to know why inventory accuracy is important to the company, and it is with this assumption where the problems begin. It is also where I am going to begin the first step.

Peter Drucker, the foremost author and expert on enterprise and self-management, and one whom I am sure everyone reading this has probably heard of, stated, "We know little more about distribution today than Napoleon's contemporaries knew about the interior of Africa." I found out just how true this was when I was gathering information for this article. I began by searching to see what other experts had to say about maintaining an accurate inventory. About one week after beginning my search, I was no closer than when I started, so I decided to talk to people in the industry and ask them three simple questions:

1. What are your currently doing to maintain the accuracy of your inventory?
   
   
2. Is what you are currently doing working?
   
   
3. If what you are currently doing is not working then why haven't you changed?

You know what the interesting thing was? Everyone answered number 1 and number 2, but when it came to number 3, I ended up right back where I started: scratching my head and saying, "I can't believe since inventory is one of an organization's greatest asset, why do most companies do so little to maintain it?"

There are some interesting things about inventory that I am sure everyone knows, but before I get to the nineteen steps I'm going to reiterate some key points about inventory.

• Distribution inventory values range between 6 percent and 20 percent of the company's annual revenue.
  
  
• An inaccurate inventory causes several problems: lost sales, decreases in profitability, and lost productivity from searching for products.
  
  
• Companies use inventory as a security blanket to cover deficiencies in their warehouse.

Given all of this, the only thing you really need to know is that it takes $2,500 in new sales to make up $100 in lost inventory, assuming a 4 percent return. I don't think I am the only one in our industry who knows this, but if I am not, then why are so few people talking about how to control the accuracy of their inventory? Think about how much having an inaccurate inventory costing you and your organization.

Again, your inventory is one of the biggest, if not the largest investment you have in your company. The only thing that comes close to it is your people. But you know what I have learned over the years? People do what you inspect and not what you expect! Most leaders expect their people to know why inventory accuracy is important to the company, and it is with this assumption where the problems begin. It is also where I am going to begin the first step.