India, Oct. 27 -- When does a safety net become a liability? In the automotive and manufacturing sectors, legacy inventory stocking policies designed to protect operations against downtime are increasingly becoming liabilities. These policies, which prioritised excess availability as operational insurance, now tie up capital that organisations can no longer afford to overlook.

Even as advanced data analytics and cloud-based platforms transform inventory control and optimisation, excess stock remains a persistent drain on resources.

According to a McKinsey report, AI-enabled inventory management can reduce inventory levels by 20-30% in distribution operations. This can translate into more accurate production schedules, better alignment o...