Private businesses and managers of public sector institutions have been asked to pay particular attention to their stores and inventory units if they want to save cost on sourced goods and works, ensure value for money and drive sustained operational efficiency.
Astute procurement consultant, Collins Agyemang Sarpong, said most businesses incur wastages due to the lack of structured measures to ensure the prudent and needs-based procurement in both public and private organisations.
“In Ghana, there is a huge gap in the area of inventory management; we use millions to buy goods, spare parts, stationery as well as maintenance, repairs and operating supplies (MROs) but do not look at how they could be properly managed to create value to the organization and save cost,” he said at the end of a three-day workshop on contemporary stores and inventory management in Accra.
“How do you take money to buy something, keep it in the stores for five years only to throw it away without adding any value to the organization?” he queried, adding that it is one key gap that business leaders and managers need to pay attention to.
There is a gap between when the items are sourced and when they are going to be disposed of, and, in between procurement and disposal is inventory management which call for the prudent use of the goods or materials to the maximum benefit of the business and to ensure value for money.
According to Mr. Sarpong, most organisations pay some attention to their procurement department that brings in the items and materials but when they are in the stores, there is very little about how they are handled or managed till they become unusable and thrown away.
“Stock represents cash or a current asset because they are liquid enough to be turned into money and they help in the continuous operations of every organization,” he indicated.
The three-day capacity building training was organised by the multidisciplinary consulting firm, ProSupp Consult, on the theme: “Contemporary stores and inventory management”.
It was targeted at public and private sector stores and inventory managers, supply officers, procurement managers, logistics managers, internal auditors, finance managers, entity tender committee members and all responsible for overseeing stores and inventory operations in their organisations.
Participants were drawn from the manufacturing, power, banking and the public sectors of the economy participated in the training programme.
Some of the participants told Business24 that the training was hugely impactful and helpful as they were given insights into prudent stores and inventory management as well as an implementable action plan that could drive the profitability of their respective organisations.
Polycarp Opoku-Dwamenah, who led a team from HPW Fresh & Dry Limited, said the training was recommended by management to enhance their knowledge about contemporary inventory management and storekeeping.
“The training has been very helpful; for some time now we’ve been having issues with inventory management and so this workshop was recommended by management.
We had a lot of inventory write-offs last year which impacted on our profitability and sustainability and so with this training, we will be able to remedy that situation and make the company a lot more profitable,” he shared.
He added: “There a few points we’ve learnt that we are going to share with management and an action plan that we will implement when we go back to our company.”
Another participant, Correy Kojo Papa Sagoe Eghan, an administrator and procurement officer with the recently established Ghana Deposit Protection Corporation, said he now has a good view and experience that will help the company handle inventories and properly manage stocks without losses.
“I understand that its money that I’m handling and not physical items as people mostly regard. This training will impact the productivity of the company considering our core mandate to supervise the deposits agencies and institutions.
I believe that handling our inventory very well will impact our performance and we won’t have any slacks at all,” he noted.
