Inventory: The value of all stored goods and merchandise
Whether for supply planning, determining demand due to seasonal fluctuations, or reducing lead times in production, inventory is the core element of the warehouse. This refers to all products in stock, which either remain in the warehouse for picking or are in the production facilities.
In order to make solid forecasts, a differentiation is made between four types of stocks:
Total stock
All inventory types of an item, regardless of their current location, are merged into the total inventory. Includes goods in stock, goods remaining in distribution and goods currently being transported.
Reserved stock
All inventories that are intended for a specific order (internal/external) are considered "not available".
Locked stock
All inventories that have not yet undergone quality control or other internal processes are grouped together in blocked stock. Only after release they go into free stock.
Free stock
All supplies that are neither reserved nor blocked fall into this category. Such goods do not necessarily have to be "available"; what is meant is, among other things, goods that have just been transported or are otherwise tradable.
