5.1.0 Stocking Decisions :
The Stores Department has to first decide what items they would stock for meeting the demands of the various consumers. For items required for maintenance activities, the demands can be generated well in advance as the forecasting is done based on previous consumption pattern. The Stores Department can either stock those items or purchase as and when required to meet the specific demands. This can be decided upon considering the total cost of purchasing plus inventory carrying costs. Generally, it can be said that if the item is required frequently it is cheaper to stock and meet the demands from stock. But if an item is demanded say once or twice a year, it may be better to buy as and when required. For example, if a particular color of paint is used for maintenance of one or two rakes (like Pink City Express) and the demand is only twice a year, it may be better to buy the paint at the time of POH instead of stocking it all the time.
