Inventory refers to the stock of finished goods a company sells, as well as the raw materials it has on hand to produce them. Because these goods and materials represent major drivers of business costs as well as revenues, the timely and cost-effective management of inventory is very important to the ultimate profitability of any business that sells physical goods.

Inventory is a key part of the broader area of supply chain management, which is the entire system of moving products from suppliers to end-users and consumers. It is an intermediate step in a process that begins with the procurement of raw materials and transporting them to manufacturing facilities; finished products are then stored (or “warehoused”) as inventory until logistics networks deliver them to end users and consumers.

Because it sits in the middle of the supply chain, inventory and warehouse management requires close attention to both supply and demand sides of the business. Shortages in raw material inputs can result in costly production delays, risking sales. Similarly, planning for product sales and demand forecasting is also critical, as holding excess inventory can be costly. And, on both the supply and demand side, quality control is essential to minimizing returns of products and upholding the company’s reputation in the market.

Given its central role in business supply chains, a deep understanding of the complexities of inventory management and warehousing for careers in supply chain management and logistics. Working in this area means a fast-paced career of moving products from suppliers to consumers, and can lead to jobs at any type of company that produces physical goods ranging from furniture to cars to books. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, logisticians earned a median annual salary of $74,750 in 2019, and these jobs are expected to grow at roughly the same rate as the rest of the economy.

Absolutely! There are opportunities to learn about an incredibly wide range of business topics on Coursera, including courses as well as Specializations spanning multiple courses that are focused on supply chain management and inventory. You can learn from top-ranked schools like Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Georgia Institute of Technology, or build skills in inventory tracking by completing step-by-step tutorials with experienced instructors as part of Coursera’s Guided Projects. Regardless of what choice best fits your needs, Coursera lets you learn remotely on a flexible schedule, making the logistics of fitting this job-ready education into your existing work or school life easy.