Disclaimer: Off the OP's original topic...
As Greg stated it is often not in the best interest for companies to keep an inventory year round.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Needel
... To add to the issue, nobody wants inventory at the end of the season because after April any inventory will most likely not sell again until the next year. That inventory is "money sitting on a shelf." If funds are wrapped up, that is less money we can spend on other things like R&D, tooling for new products, travel to support events, etc. While not good for the teams, from a straight business case it is better to sell out than overshoot.
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It is a really hard problem, that is worse for small suppliers but we will keep trying to improve and always appreciate your support.
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This being known, I recommend teams to buy some commonly used parts, materials, etc prior to the season starting. Sure you don't know what the game will have in store, but you will have a starting point. If you guessed wrong or over bought of something particular, it will
most likely be usable in the following game or R&D effort by the team. The caution to this is to not try and build up an inventory of everything, and definitely not in one year. We have strategically phased into using hex shaft, box tubing, and others over the past few seasons. This approach was taken to use up the existing "inventory" of material and slowly build up the new "inventory" and design/fabrication practices.
TL;DR For a team, unused inventory is still good for future uses. For companies, unsold inventory is an added cost and potentially causes operational restrictions.