Inventory is cash sitting on a shelf

Inventory is cash sitting on a shelf. In systems integration, order everything on day one and you have just funded your customer's storeroom. Over the years I have seen that the cost of stock is rarely the price of the equipment. It is the time the cash is tied up before the site is ready to receive it.

Plan for site readiness, not only for demand

On a project, the question is not only what is needed but when each site can actually take it. Civil works, power, cabling and access all move at their own pace. Procurement should follow a site readiness plan, so equipment arrives when it can be installed.

Agree the contract model early

There are two honest models. The first is phased delivery, where equipment is ordered and delivered as sites become ready. The second is to deliver as available, with the customer providing storage and a delivery payment milestone, so the cash is not carried by the integrator alone. Either works, as long as it is agreed at the start.

Link deliveries to billing milestones

Every delivery should move a billing milestone forward. When stock is delivered but no milestone is triggered, the business is financing the project without being paid for it.

Tag surplus stock

Projects change, and surplus is normal. What matters is that surplus items are tagged against the project, visible to the team and used or returned early, before they become old stock that nobody owns.

Be transparent with customers and vendors

Clear, early conversations about timing with customers and vendors make all of this possible. Most partners prefer an honest plan to a surprise.

Lean stock is not about holding less for its own sake. It is about holding the right stock, at the right time, with the cash planned around it.