Orchid Advisors Announces Inventory Analysis Service for Firearms Manufacturers, Wholesalers and Dealers
OutdoorHub 01.22.14
Orchid Advisors announces the release of its newest service, focused on the optimization of serialized inventory processes performed by Federal Firearms License (FFL) holders. Under the new Inventory Analysis service, Orchid acts as a third party advisor to the inventory process, seeking the underlying operational root causes and helping to optimize business processes with new internal controls. Orchid Advisors is the first and only management consulting firm dedicated to the firearms industry.
“Inventories can be a misunderstood opportunity for a firm to detect and close systemic issues that prevent having an always-balanced inventory on record,” says Orchid Advisors CEO Jon Rydberg. “We’ve honed in on this business process because it impacts the entire supply chain, its ability to meet the current day demand surge while remaining compliant with Federal regulations governed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).”
The service uses Orchid’s Inventory Analysis methodology to identify root causes of inventory issues in the firearms industry, and map solutions to minimize the risk of future errors. “This service is not about sending in ‘old-school inspectors’ to audit your books; it’s about sending in business process professionals to find the holes in your processes that cause all the problems,” Rydberg noted.
“When the ATF comes to visit, one of the first things they look at is your Book of Acquisition and Disposition. Strength of transaction control in your receiving, shipping, sales and production processes can really help FFLs sleep better at night,” Rydberg says. “We’ve heard stories about clients struggling through analysis of their inventories, wasting productive business hours trying to reconcile months or even years of data that could have easily been avoided.”
“Many inventory teams are simply happy to close out reconciliation and get home – the time is not always invested in identifying core issues that caused the out-of-balance condition,…so, it just happens again next inventory.” says Danny Briere, Orchid’s President of Technology Consulting. “In many cases, regulatory compliance, especially surrounding serialized inventory, can be solidified and simplified with modern day technology that other industries have enjoyed for some time.”
With this press release, Orchid is announcing the immediate availability of a best-in-class whitepaper that provides foundational elements of its Inventory Optimization service. Key elements of the Inventory Optimization service include: (1) Designing an independent, bi-directional serial number inventory; (2) Deploying technology to make it efficient; (3) Overseeing an end-to-end inventory and subsequent reconciliation, and (4) Using Orchid’s Inventory Analysis tool as the measuring stick for the majority of continuous improvement activities for ATF compliance.
“We are on a mission to advance the industry on its broader Compliance EcosystemTM and overhaul the way technology supports the whole regulatory compliance process,” says Briere. “Our focus is on the activities that exist throughout the entire supply chain – from suppliers – to manufacturers – to distributors – to retailers – and to end consumers.”
Orchid’s white paper on Inventory Analysis can be found at http://www.orchidadvisors.com/publications.
