| Summary: | The packaging industry's pivotal role in safeguarding and transporting goods underscores the need for effective inventory management, particularly concerning critical raw materials like polymers. Managing inventory levels efficiently is crucial for seamless production and cost reduction. This paper presents an insightful approach to inventory management and risk mitigation, focusing on the looming challenge of running out of stock (OOS) of polymers within the packaging sector. Employing qualitative research methods, we conducted in-depth interviews with four key managerial personnel from a prominent packaging company. Our study unravels the intricate landscape of inventory management practices employed by industry players, shedding light on innovative strategies to preempt OOS scenarios. We propose a pragmatic inventory management approach that encompasses the implementation of tailored inventory policies, a thorough examination of cycle service levels, the profound impact of demand forecasting, and the intricacies of suppliers’ lead-times on inventory policy. This research significantly contributes to the existing body of knowledge on inventory management within the manufacturing sphere by directing attention to the packaging industry's unique challenges in polymer inventory management. Our findings deliver actionable insights that practitioners in the packaging sector can leverage to elevate their inventory management practices and, concurrently, reduce the ominous spectra of OOS occurrences. Furthermore, this study paves the way for future exploration into the domain of inventory management and OOS risk assessment, specifically within the packaging industry's dynamic landscape. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.
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