Making people smarter, one shower at a time.

Inventory management is definitely one of the most important aspects of any business! I am currently running a company selling educational shower curtains and one of the biggest hurdles we’ve been trying to jump is our stock issue.

My company sells over 10 different styles of educational shower curtains. We were the top selling shower curtain on Target.com, until we were out of stock of the top three styles being sold through Target. Since Target only carried three of our styles, we were unable to restock because we had around 6,000 unsold units in our warehouse of the other eight styles.

When it comes to getting products manufactured in bulk, there is usually a minimum order quantity. For shower curtains they generally range from 500-1000 units per order. This makes it difficult for small companies to project which styles will do well, and which styles won’t.

It was interesting hearing the professor talk about how crucial it is to have effective inventory control. This is definitely something I’ve experienced and still learning from!

Taking forecasting to another measure, literally.

 

 

Drop that chocolate-dipped Twinkie and give me ten push ups! In Tokyo, Japan, companies are now regulating and figuring out a way to control their employees’ diets. Japanese lawmakers have set the max waistline size to 33.5 inches, for anyone 40 and older. If these employees fail to meet the waistline requirement, they will undergo mandatory counseling with a physician.

By controlling the food in the cafeteria, companies predict that their healthy 600-calorie count meals will slim down their employees’ waistline during the annual weigh-ins. For every obese employee, the company gets punched with a fine that could rack up to 19 million dollars. The theory of this new law is that the less overweight people you have, the lower the health care costs.

Companies encourage employees to take the stairs in lieu of the elevators. Some stairwell floors even have a wall with measurements to encourage employees to jump. Twice a day, music will begin playing in the office, which signals it’s time to get up and stretch. Looks like the only project these employees will be crashing is their diet!

 

Do you think a system like this would work here in America, where one third of adults are either overweight or obese? Do you think companies can forecast their employees’ diets to avoid the massive fines?