As one course among many offered in the American Management Association� curriculum, Fundamentals of Inventory Management and Control, Third Edition, has been written to introduce the new stockroom/warehouse manager, the nonfinancial inventory control individual, or the small business owner to the fundamental nature of inventory from a financial, physical, forecasting, and operational standpoint. The ultimate goal of this course is to present immediately usable information in the areas of forecasting, physical control and layout, and problem recognition and resolution. These materials should enable you to:

• Understand that modern practice discourages holding large quantities of inventory and encourages only having amounts on-hand required for current needs.
• Grasp the significance of controlling actual, on-hand inventory as both a physical object (shelf count) and as an intangible object (record count and monetary worth).
• Understand the fundamental differences between finished goods inventories in the retail/distribution sectors and raw materials and work-in-process inventories found in the manufacturing environment.
• Apply basic formulas to calculate inventory quantities.
• Recognize and analyze dysfunctions within your own operation.
• Employ basic problem-solving techniques toward issue resolution.
• Control the physical location of inventory in a more efficient manner.

Max Muller has served as chief executive or operations officer for companies distributing products as diverse as food to automated teller machines to safety equipment. In the world of education, Mr. Muller has developed or revised more than nineteen seminars in the areas of warehousing, inventory control, facilities management, project management, employment law, and occupational safety and health. These courses have been presented to more than 100,000 people throughout the United States, England, Canada, and Scotland. Mr. Muller has published articles in several business magazines. He is an attorney and an authorized General Industry Outreach Trainer of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.

Gary Langenwalter, CFPIM, CIRM, has more than 25 years?experience assisting manufacturers to integrate people, processes, and technologies to create competitive advantage. He is founder and president of Manufacturing Consulting Partners and combines a systems approach with sensitivity toward the human element.

He has assisted clients across the entire manufacturing spectrum, from agricultural chemicals, bio-pharmaceuticals, board games, casters, and centrifuges, to tie-down straps, tooling for plastic injection molding, ultrasonic test equipment, window treatments, and wood furniture. He has led classes nationally on Lean, ERP, and leadership/management and has been a member of the steering committees of both Lean and Process industry groups of APICS.

Mr. Langenwalter has written Enterprise Resources Planning and Beyond: Integrating Your Entire Organization, and was the lead author of the Repetitive Scheduling Training Aid. He co-authored the Handbook of Material and Capacity Requirements Planning. He earned an MBA from Michigan State University in Production Management and a BA from the University of Oregon in Industrial Management.