ABC Analysis
Classify an inventory into three categories A, B, C based on actual consumption, then apply a different management rule to each: tight monitoring on the few items that carry weight, reduced stock on the mass of items that carry little.
A shop-floor storeroom holds 300, 800, sometimes 2,000 items. All of them are stored, counted and replenished in the same way, even though a handful of them account for the bulk of issues and stock-outs. This course is aimed at team leaders, storekeepers, methods technicians and maintenance managers who manage an inventory of components, spare parts or consumables without a dedicated planning tool.
By the end, you will know how to extract one year of consumption data, sort the items, plot the cumulative curve and set the A, B, C thresholds in a spreadsheet. Above all, you will know how to write three different management rules and spot the cases where classification by value alone leads to a bad decision: a critical part classified C, an item that changes category, thresholds copied over without verification.
What you will be able to do
- Explain in one sentence what ABC analysis brings compared with an inventory managed uniformly, and relate it to the Pareto principle.
- Choose the sorting unit (quantity consumed, value consumed, revenue) and the study period according to the inventory to be classified.
- Build the ABC table in a spreadsheet: descending sort, individual percentage, cumulative percentage, 80 / 95 / 100 thresholds.
- Write a distinct management rule for each category: location, replenishment frequency, counting frequency, safety stock level.
- Identify the three classic pitfalls: the critical part classified C, distorted consumption data, the classification never updated.
The path
- Why three categories and not a one-size-fits-all treatment 4 min
- Choosing what to measure and over what period 4 min
- Building the ABC table in a spreadsheet 5 min
- Writing a management rule per class 5 min
- The traps of classification and keeping it up to date 4 min
Prerequisites
No prior Lean knowledge required. Know how to use a spreadsheet to sort a column and calculate a sum. Have access to a stock issue history (CMMS, ERP, storeroom logbook) covering at least six months.
The closing quiz
The topic ends with a 7-question quiz, and a certificate is issued on success.