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The dollars and sense of inventory turns.

Article Excerpt
The business of distribution is managing inventory. In the metals distribution business, inventory makes up a major share of the total dollars invested. The cost of metal is relatively fixed, since service centers tend to get the same price from the mill as similar-sized competitors. On the sell side, the market sets the upper limit on the prices service centers can charge. So, if a service center can't buy lower or sell higher, and it has already slashed its costs for receiving, warehousing, processing and shipping, where can it make money in today's market?

Inventory turns! By controlling inventory--having the right items in the right quantities when customers need them--you maximize profitability while minimizing investment.

Having too much money tied up in underperforming inventory is a leading cause of failure for distribution businesses. This could be the result of having too many items that sell slowly or not at all, or even having too much of an item that sells well. One...