Excess inventory is the bane of the supply chain manager’s existence…until it’s suddenly needed for an emergency order. Balancing inventory levels with order fulfillment quality is one of the most difficult challenges supply chain planners face. There are plenty of sophisticated methods and algorithms out there to help calculate safety stock levels. However without good supply chain data, it’s almost impossible to implement any kind of rigorous inventory management process. High quality supply chain data can be instrumental in helping you optimize your inventory levels. Here are five actions you can take to start reducing all that buffer stock.