Предиктивные методы оптимизации складских запасов в проактивном управлении оборотным капиталом

Working capital management as an area of corporate finance, attracts special attention of the academics and managers due to its high impact on operational performance. What most of the researchers have focused on, is its relation with profitability (Deloof 2003; Pandey 2008; Dharmendra 2015; Madhou, Moosa and Ramiah 2015; Rimsha et al. 2018; Nasser 2019). However, many researchers and authors of papers additionally state that inventory management and working capital management are closely connected (Sharma 2008; Singh 2008). According to these authors, inventory sometimes even takes forty percent of the current assets and the inventory management is a big issue across the industries (Huang et al. 2017). Hence, the management of inventory is truly important when it comes to better and proactive management of working capital.
The research problem lies in the fact that the studied literature clearly said that nowadays it is not enough for companies consider only internal factors for efficient working capital management. Instead, companies should focus on increasing collaboration in their supply chain (Holweg et al. 2005; Lam and Ip 2011; Ivakina and Zenkevich 2017). Companies, focusing on clients, apply predictive inventory optimization methods which stipulates them to be proactive in working capital management. Integrating their clients’ plans in internal planning process, helps a company to act upon these plans, i.e. to be proactive. After conducting research on the differences between internal (company’s individual) and back-looking methods of inventory management and methods that have a forward-looking perspective, and taking into account specific plans and needs of clients, certain benefits should be assessed..
This research gap was identified during the review of literature. It became evident that, most of the researchers undervalue the importance of being predictive in inventory optimization and proactive in working capital management through collaboration in the supply chain. Additionally, the literature review shows that there are not many attempts to combine working capital management and inventory management decisions. Most of the working capital management studies were devoted to explanation of its relation with profitability or productivity. Having in mind the importance and relevance that inventory has in the working capital, the sphere leaves a gap that ought to be fulfilled by studying deeper the theory and practice. The mentioned collaboration is needed in terms of understanding the plans that companies’ clients have and incorporating them into company’s own plans and operations. In terms of collaboration, companies should focus to most important, key partners Barrat (2004).
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According to the literature studied, the following research questions were posed, with the purpose of fulfilling the discovered research gap:
 How can a company make its management of working capital proactive, through the better understanding and management of inventory?
 How can a company adjust its inventory towards the plans of their clients?
 What benefits proactive working capital management can bring to a company?
 How does the predictive inventory optimization method differ from the past-
looking one?
Having identified the research problem, gap and questions, the research objectives are to be included, as guidance for the direction of movement of the study. One objective is to find out whether the company that employs predictive approach and collaborates with clients for including their plans in the supplier’s inventory management can be considered proactive. Also, an objective is to discover whether clients’ plans could be a basis, on which the company adjusts its inventory. Moreover, it is an objective to find out whether all these efforts would bring benefits for the company. Finally, one objective is to be able to distinguish the two methods by showing the gaps or discrepancies that arose.
As a result, the research goal is to develop a framework of predictive approach for inventory optimization through forward-looking collaboration in supply chain and hence becoming proactive in working capital management. This framework will address companies to consider understanding the plans that companies’ clients have and implementing them into company’s own inventory optimization and management, being a key element of the efficient working capital management in inventory-intensive companies.
An accent should be put on the importance of proper control, optimization and being predictive in inventory management in terms of making working capital proactive.
To reach the goal the author solves the following tasks:
– Study traditional methods in inventory management as a component of working capital and analyze their advantages and disadvantages,
– Explore the past- and forward- looking approaches and problem of predictivity in inventory optimization
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– Compose an approach and a model that is oriented to improve the efficiency of inventory management by employing a forward-looking, proactive tools that oriented to higher predictivity,
– Test the model for a company that is inventory-intensive and have stable relationships with its clients
The research is composed of the 3 chapters. In the first chapter we study the theoretical grounds of working capital and company’s financial performance and discover the influence of inventory management on its effectiveness from position of proactivity as a preferred approach. In the second chapter the forward-looking inventory optimization model is described. In the 3rd chapter this model is adopted and results from combination of past- and forward- looking methods is presented.