Sicherheitsbestände

Sicherheitsbestände, also known as safety stock or buffer stock, are quantities of inventory held by a company to mitigate the risk of stockouts. These stocks are maintained to compensate for uncertainties in demand and supply. Uncertainties in demand can arise from unexpected surges in customer orders or inaccurate demand forecasts. Supply uncertainties, on the other hand, can be caused by delays in production, longer than expected delivery times from suppliers, or unexpected quality issues with incoming goods.

The primary purpose of safety stock is to ensure continuous production or customer service levels are maintained even when faced with these unpredictable events. By having extra inventory on hand, a company can fulfill orders or continue manufacturing operations without interruption, thereby avoiding lost sales, production downtime, and damage to customer relationships.

Calculating the optimal level of safety stock is a crucial inventory management task. It involves balancing the cost of holding excess inventory against the cost of stockouts. Factors influencing safety stock levels include demand variability, lead time variability, desired service level, and the cost of obsolescence. Various inventory management models, such as the economic order quantity (EOQ) model with safety stock considerations or statistical methods based on probability distributions, are employed to determine appropriate safety stock quantities. Too little safety stock increases the risk of stockouts, while too much ties up capital, incurs storage costs, and increases the risk of inventory obsolescence. Therefore, finding the right balance is essential for efficient operations and profitability.