Material and hardware stock management in a joinery shop
Neither cash tied up in stock nor a stoppage waiting on one hinge. How to find the middle ground.
Stock is idle cash, a stockout is lost cash
Holding extra panels ties up capital and floor space. Running out of a cheap hinge can stop an installation and delay a payment.
The goal is not to hold everything, but to always have the essentials and order the rest in time.
Start with critical materials
Identify the ten to twenty items used on nearly every job: standard panel, edging, screws, runners, hinges and glue.
Set a minimum for each. Only those need tight control; everything else can be bought per job.
Consumption tied to the job
When material leaves the store for a work order, stock should drop and the cost should land on that job.
That link is what tells you how much material a job really consumed rather than how much was quoted.
Stocktakes without stopping the shop
One full annual count is heavy and out of date within days. Prefer monthly cycle counts of the critical items.
Correct differences in the system the same day, otherwise the numbers stop being trusted.