This week is inventory management. This is an important concept for operations managers, because inventory, typically, is a large money investment for companies. Because of this, it is important to reduce costs by optimizing inventory levels. Organizations throughout the supply chain try to find ways to reduce inventory costs and still be responsive to customer needs. There is a short video with some key elements to inventory management.

Please discuss why it is important to optimize inventory and how it is done. Also, in light of the craziness recently in retail and grocery stores caused by the pandemic. What affect does mass purchasing have on inventory management? Not just the empty shelves, but what about reordering? Bull whip effect? Future inventory levels?