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Inventory in Lean Philosophy is one of the 7 Wastes in 7+1 MUDA. Inventory stands for stocking of raw materials, finished goods, WIP Items created or piled, for future usage and deployment. It has evolved from Manufacturing where batch processing was on the rise and we had fewer customization of products. It made sense at that time, to stock materials well in advance, so that the products can be created on demand and manufacturers can reduce the time to market for their products, thus beating competition and becoming the differentiator. Over time when this differentiator became the basic requirement, companies that had invested hugely in stocking various items in warehouses had found the cost of storage pinching their bottom line. That is when “Inventory” was identified as a Waste rather than a Vice. In Lean Terms, Inventory is anything that is stocked, backlog, work in progress in a process, function or department that the Customer is not paying for. Only when the WIP is sold, then it can be converted to Revenue and add Value to the organization. Till that time, it is always cost. Inventory in various industries can be as follows Industry Department/Function Example of Inventory ITES Customer Support Desk “Open Customer Tickets/ Requests” that have not been resolved. Engineering Development # of Change requests at various stages of the SDLC Cycle. (Design, Develop, Test, Deploy) Research and Development Product Management # of Product Features queued for Backlog to be released in Platform Automotive Painting # of Units of Unfinished Doors to be painted Banking Derivative # of Transaction records to be resolved at Security Exchange at EOD. Hospitality House Cleaning # of Bedsheets that needs to be washed and dry cleaned Food Buffet # of Plates left unused. Entertainment Cinema Hall # of Unoccupied seats in a Cinema theatre for a film. Transport Airline/ Tour Bus/ Train # of Unoccupied seats on a route. Medical Doctor Prescription # Excess tablets remaining once the patient has recovered well before the completion of the course Real Estate Construction of High end homes # of Units unsold in a Project Fashion Home # of Clothes Accumulated over a period of time leaving the Wardrobe bursting out and not used. Home Furnishing Furniture Excess seating capacity like the # of Chairs in a House that is a waste of space and money. Education Class IV # of Pencils /Story Books that a student possesses in excess to their requirement The only way to Tackle this Waste, is to attach the demand of any resources to the Demand of the Customer/User OR to address your personal need. Easy availability of Resources and lesser time in procurement can help in Just in time procurement and usage of these resources.