4. Inventory techniques

We distinguish :

• annual inventory ;

• rotating inventory.

• Annual inventory

  The latter is very often used because of the obligation to draw up a balance sheet at least once a year, in which the fixed assets in stock will have been accounted for.

  Even in the case of computer-managed stock, it is necessary to compare the computerized inventory with reality, by counting the quantities stored. This operation is concentrated on a single date (or a few days).

  The annual inventory is costly. The risk of errors induced by this one-off count is high.

• Rotating inventory

  This is the most widely-accepted technique for achieving...