Materials management is the part of the supply chain process that entails the purchase and internal production of raw materials, control of work in progress, transportation of materials to go downs and distribution of final products (Hove-Sibanda & Pooe, 2018) . The materials controlled include direct and indirect materials. Direct materials are used directly in manufacturing of final products while indirect material support the production of the final product. The purpose of materials management is to maintain a smooth workflow by ensuring that raw materials are ordered and delivered promptly to avoid work delays due to stockouts (Janani & Sankar, 2021) . It also ensures that production machinery is in the right conditions and that new machines are purchased when demand arises. It also involves transportation and distribution of finished goods to meet the consumer demands. Thus, an effective materials management process ensures uninterrupted flow of materials from the suppliers to the consumer at the end of the supply chain.
An efficient materials management starts with the procurement of raw materials from suppliers. A company must uphold good relationship with the suppliers who must deliver orders promptly. The suppliers must deliver the goods in the right quality and quantity and at affordable prices. The materials management team should maintain a reliable inventory control system (Bachman, Williams, Cheman, Curtis & Carroll, 2016) . The system should comprise of an economic order quantity, maximum stock that the company can hold, the minimum safety stock before receiving supplies and the re-order levels (Bachman, Williams, Cheman, Curtis & Carroll, 2016) . There must be a reliable record of materials bought and materials used to ensure effective inventory control.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The materials management system should also promote cost effectiveness to maximize on profitability. Thus, the team should work with the cost accounting department to establish that costs of materials are reasonable and bearable for the business to operate smoothly (Janani & Sankar, 2021) . The materials management department should ensure cost control by negotiating with suppliers for friendly material prices, acquiring affordable means of deliveries and holding the right amounts of stock to reduce the material holding costs. Companies can adopt technology-based materials management computer systems to improve their efficiency and for proper record keeping.
References
Janani, R., & Sankar, A. (2021). Material management and effective utilization of materials. Materials Today: Proceedings , 37 , 3118-3124. doi : 10.1016/j.matpr.2020.09.022
Bachman, T., Williams, P., Cheman, K., Curtis, J., & Carroll, R. (2016). PNG: Effective Inventory Control for Items with Highly Variable Demand. Interfaces , 46 (1), 18-32. doi: 10.1287/inte.2015.0829
Hove-Sibanda, P., & Pooe, R. (2018). Enhancing supply chain performance through supply chain practices. Journal Of Transport And Supply Chain Management , 12 . doi: 10.4102/jtscm. v12i0.400
