Advanced Materials and Stores Management Training Course – Madrid, 22 Mar – 2 Apr 2027

Materials and Stores Management is an advanced 2-week training course for materials managers, senior storekeepers and inventory controllers, built around one work product: a Materials and Stores Improvement Plan covering the item master, stores layout, receiving controls, replenishment rules, obsolete stock disposal and stocktake routines. Idle stock, missing spares and unrecorded issues quietly drain working capital and halt maintenance. Jupiter Prime Training shaped this course for the people who keep stores accurate and materials available.

Why Materials and Stores Management Matter Now

Three pressures are raising expectations of stores teams. Maintenance and production leaders need critical spares on the shelf the moment equipment fails, yet finance wants inventory value reduced. Auditors increasingly test stock records, write-off approvals and segregation between storekeeping and accounting. And duplicate item codes, ageing materials and poor bin discipline make even good systems produce wrong answers. Stores that are well run release cash, prevent downtime and pass audits cleanly; stores that drift accumulate obsolete items, emergency purchases and unexplained variances. The course treats the store as a controlled asset, from the item master to the shelf to the final count.

Who Gains Most from Materials and Stores Management

• Managers who own materials availability and inventory value across sites
• Senior storekeepers who run receiving, binning, issuing and returns
• Controllers who maintain item master data and replenishment settings
• Planners who stock spare parts for maintenance and shutdowns
• Supervisors who lead cycle counts and investigate stock variances

A stores and maintenance pairing from one site, the materials manager with the maintenance planner, gains most when both attend and agree which spares are critical and how they are held.

Materials and Stores Management Capabilities

Each outcome tightens the link between what the record says, what sits on the shelf and what operations actually need.

• Design an item cataloguing and coding standard that prevents duplicates — materials controllers
• Assess stores layout and location discipline for picking accuracy — stores supervisors
• Specify receiving, inspection and quarantine controls for incoming materials — quality inspectors
• Calculate reorder points and maximum levels for stocked items — working capital owners
• Build a disposal route for slow-moving and obsolete stock — finance controllers
• Apply critical spares analysis to maintenance materials — maintenance managers

Key Materials and Stores Management Terms

• Item master — the central record holding each material's code, description, unit, location and stocking parameters.
• Bin location — the precise storage address where an item is kept, used to find, count and issue stock reliably.
• Cycle counting — counting a planned subset of items regularly instead of closing the store for a single annual count.
• Obsolete stock — materials with no foreseeable demand, often from retired equipment or superseded specifications.
• Critical spare — a part whose absence would stop essential equipment for longer than the business can accept.
• Inventory record accuracy — the share of counted items whose physical quantity matches the system record within tolerance.

Materials and Stores Management Day by Day

Day 1: The Role of Materials and Stores

• Materials Function Purpose — Availability, Cost and Control Balance
• Stores Performance Diagnostic — Accuracy, Service and Inventory Value
• Internal Customer Requirements — Production and Maintenance Expectations
• Stores Organisation Models — Central, Satellite and Site Stores
• Segregation of Duties in Stores — Custody Versus Recording

Day 2: Item Master and Cataloguing

• Naming and Description Conventions — Noun-Modifier Structure
• Material Coding Systems — Intelligent Versus Sequential Codes
• Duplicate Item Detection — Cleansing the Catalogue
• Units of Measure and Conversion Rules — Issue and Purchase Units
• Item Creation Approval Workflow — Controlling Catalogue Growth

Day 3: Materials Planning

• Consumption-Based Planning — Historical Usage Patterns
• Materials Requirements Planning Basics — Bills of Materials Explosion
• Stock Versus Non-Stock Decisions — Direct Charge Purchases
• Lead Time Recording — Supplier and Internal Delays
• Planning Parameter Reviews — Keeping Settings Current

Day 4: Stores Layout and Location Control

• Stores Layout Principles — Flow, Access and Safety
• Bin Location Addressing — Aisle, Rack, Shelf and Position
• Storage Media Selection — Racking, Shelving and Bulk Areas
• Hazardous and Special Materials Storage — Segregation Requirements
• Shelf Life and Rotation Rules — First Expiry First Out

Day 5: Receiving, Inspection and Issuing

• Goods Receiving Procedure — Documents, Counts and Discrepancies
• Incoming Inspection and Quarantine — Release or Rejection
• Put-Away Discipline — Recording the Correct Location
• Material Issue Controls — Requisitions and Authorisation
• Returns to Stores — Unused Materials and Credit Recording

Day 6: Stock Control Methods

• ABC Classification by Usage Value — Control Intensity per Class
• Reorder Point and Maximum Level Setting — Replenishment Triggers
• Economic Order Quantity — Ordering Versus Holding Cost
• Min-Max Review Routines — Overstock and Shortage Correction
• Consignment and Vendor-Held Stock — Ownership and Risk

Day 7: Maintenance Spares Management

• Critical Spares Analysis — Equipment Criticality and Failure Impact
• Insurance Spares Decisions — Low-Usage High-Impact Items
• Shutdown and Turnaround Materials Kitting — Readiness Checks
• Repairable Spares Loop — Rotable Tracking and Refurbishment
• Bill of Materials for Equipment — Linking Spares to Assets

Day 8: Slow-Moving and Obsolete Stock

• Stock Ageing Analysis — Identifying Non-Moving Items
• Obsolescence Root Causes — Retired Assets and Over-Ordering
• Disposal Options — Return, Transfer, Sale or Scrap
• Write-Off Approval and Provisioning — Financial Treatment
• Preventing Future Obsolescence — Item Lifecycle Reviews

Day 9: Stocktaking and Stores Performance

• Cycle Count Schedule Design — Frequency by Item Class
• Annual Stocktake Planning — Cut-Off and Count Teams
• Variance Investigation — Root Causes of Record Errors
• Stores Key Performance Indicators — Accuracy, Fill Rate and Turns
• Stores Audit Readiness — Documentation and Control Evidence

Day 10: Practising the Materials and Stores Improvement Plan

• Catalogue Cleansing Exercise — Applying Naming and Duplicate Rules
• Stores Layout Redesign — Applying Location and Storage Principles
• Replenishment Settings Case — Applying Reorder Points and Classification
• Obsolete Stock Disposal Case — Applying Ageing and Write-Off Steps
• Materials and Stores Improvement Plan — Catalogue, Controls, Spares and Counts

Applying Materials and Stores Management After the Course

• Run a stock ageing report, list items without movement for an agreed period and propose disposal routes to finance and maintenance.
• Start a cycle count routine for the highest-value item class and track inventory record accuracy each week.

Materials and Stores Management Questions (FAQ)

What is materials and stores management, and why does it matter now?

It is the control of materials from item creation and planning through receiving, storage, issue and counting. It matters now because operations need spares instantly while finance and auditors demand lower, accurate inventory.

Which roles gain most from materials and stores management training?

Materials managers, senior storekeepers and inventory controllers gain most. They maintain the item master, run the store, set replenishment rules, hold maintenance spares and explain stock variances.

How does materials and stores management training differ from a logistics network course?

A logistics network course centres on depot locations, transport and delivery cost. This course centres inside the store: cataloguing, location control, receiving, stock control methods, spares, obsolete stock and stocktaking.

What do you bring back from materials and stores management training?

You bring back an improvement plan with a cataloguing standard, layout principles, receiving controls, replenishment settings, a critical spares list method, a disposal route and a cycle count design.

Materials and Stores Management: The Way Forward

The Materials and Stores Improvement Plan first informs which catalogue errors and obsolete items are tackled in the next quarter. The materials manager owns it, storekeepers and controllers carry it out and maintenance confirms spares priorities. After the first cycle count round, revisit accuracy results and reorder settings to see where records and shelves still disagree.