Hacia la mejora del manejo de inventarios caso de estudio en una organización sin fines de lucro : proyecto de investigación

Nowadays, companies around the world, even non-profit ones should keep control of their operations and make improvement efforts in order to remain competitive in a highly demanding market. One of the relevant operations within an organization is the supply chain management, where a significant portion of total costs is associated, specifically the ones relating to inventory management. This paper presents a case of study focused on the inventory management of a nonprofit organization, particularly in one of the bookstores that belong to this organization located throughout Latin America. The actual system and policies for inventory management are analyzed along with the purchasing decisions. A root cause analysis of the principal problems in inventory management is presented, followed by an improvement plan. This plan is compounded by two stages: first, a centralized system for the control of inventories is implemented using available technology combined with Statistic Control Charts; second, a technical forecasting method is employed to help in the decision making process of purchasing. And an inventory management policy is proposed, with a particular focus on the key items sold by the bookstore. Results were validated through interviews with the actors of the process