By WILL KENTON

Reviewed by MICHAEL J BOYLE

Fact checked by YARILET PEREZ

编写人：WILL KENTON

审核人：MICHAEL J BOYLE

事实核查人：YARILET PEREZ

What Is Inventory?

什么是存货？

The term inventory refers to the raw materials used in production as well as the goods produced that are available for sale. A company's inventory represents one of the most important assets it has because the turnover of inventory represents one of the primary sources of revenue generation and subsequent earnings for the company's shareholders. There are three types of inventory, including raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods. It is categorized as a current asset on a company's balance sheet.

存货是指生产过程中耗用的原材料以及可供销售的商品。对于公司而言，存货是最重要的资产之一，存货周转率是公司股东创收和后续收益的主要来源之一。存货分为三类，即原材料、在产品、产成品。在资产负债表中，存货作为流动资产列示。

KEY TAKEAWAYS

关键要点

·Inventory is the raw materials used to produce goods as well as the goods that are available for sale.

存货是指生产商品耗用的原材料以及可供销售的商品。

·It is classified as a current asset on a company's balance sheet.

在公司资产负债表中，存货作为流动资产列示。

·The three types of inventory include raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods. 

存货分为三类，即原材料、在产品、产成品。

·Inventory is valued in one of three ways, including the first-in, first-out method; the last-in, first-out method; and the weighted average method.

存货的计价方法包括先进先出法、后进先出法、加权平均法。

·Inventory management allows businesses to minimize inventory costs as they create or receive goods on an as-needed basis.

企业通过存货管理能够按需生产或接收商品，最大限度降低存货成本。

Understanding Inventory 

了解存货

Inventory is a very important asset for any company. It is defined as the array of goods used in production or finished goods held by a company during its normal course of business. There are three general categories of inventory, including raw materials (any supplies that are used to produce finished goods), work-in-progress (WIP), and finished goods or those that are ready for sale.

对于任何公司来说，存货都是一项非常重要的资产，是指公司在正常业务过程中持有的生产过程中耗用的一系列商品或产成品，包括原材料（任何用于生产产成品的物资）、在产品、产成品或可供销售的产成品。

As noted above, inventory is classified as a current asset on a company's balance sheet, and it serves as a buffer between manufacturing and order fulfillment. When an inventory item is sold, its carrying cost transfers to the cost of goods sold (COGS) category on the income statement.

如上所述，存货作为流动资产在资产负债表上列示，在生产与订单履行之间起缓冲作用。一旦出售库存商品，其持有成本将转到损益表上的产品销售成本。

Inventory can be valued in three ways. These methods are the:

存货的计价方法包括以下三种：

·First-in, first-out (FIFO) method, which says that the COGS is based on the cost of the earliest purchased materials. The carrying cost of the remaining inventory, on the other hand, is based on the cost of the latest purchased materials.

先进先出法，即产品销售成本以最先采购的材料成本为基础，剩余库存的持有成本以最后采购的材料成本为基础。

·Last-in, first-out (LIFO) method. This method states that the COGS is valued using the cost of the latest purchased materials, while the value of the remaining inventory is based on the earliest purchased materials.

后进先出法，即通过最后采购的材料成本对产品销售成本进行计价，剩余库存的价值以最先采购的材料成本为基础。

·Weighted average method, which requires valuing both inventory and the COGS based on the average cost of all materials bought during the period.

加权平均法，即根据当期购买的所有材料平均成本对存货和产品销售成本计价。

Important: Company management, analysts, and investors can use a company's inventory turnover to determine how many times it sells its products over a certain period of time. Inventory turnover can indicate whether a company has too much or too little inventory on hand.

重要说明：公司管理层、分析人员和投资者可以通过公司的存货周转率确定公司在某一期间销售产品的次数。通过存货周转率，可以看出公司现有的库存量太多或太少。

Special Considerations 

特殊注意事项

Many producers partner with retailers to consign their inventory. Consignment inventory is the inventory owned by the supplier/producer (generally a wholesaler) but held by a customer (generally a retailer). The customer then purchases the inventory once it has been sold to the end customer or once they consume it (e.g., to produce their own products).

许多生产商与零售商合作对库存进行寄售。寄售库存是指由供应商/生产商（通常为批发商）所有且由客户（通常为零售商）持有的库存。客户只有在库存被出售给最终客户或被消耗（比如，用于生产自身产品）的情况下购买库存。

The benefit to the supplier is that their product is promoted by the customer and readily accessible to end users. The benefit to the customer is that they do not expend capital until it becomes profitable to them. This means they only purchase it when the end user purchases it from them or until they consume the inventory for their operations.

对供应商来说，产品得到了推广，最终客户更容易接触到产品。对客户来说，在获利之前，无需支付任何费用。换句话说，客户只有在最终客户购买产品或自身为运营目的消耗库存的情况下进行购买。

Types of Inventory

存货类型

Remember that inventory is generally categorized as raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods. The IRS also classifies merchandise and supplies as additional categories of inventory.

需要记住的是，存货通常分为三类，即原材料、在产品、产成品。此外，美国国税局也将商品和物资归类为存货的其他类别。

Raw materials are unprocessed materials used to produce a good. Examples of raw materials include:

原材料是指生产商品耗用的未经加工材料，包括：

·Aluminum and steel for the manufacture of cars

制造汽车使用的铝和钢

·Flour for bakeries that produce bread

面包店制作面包使用的面粉

·Crude oil held by refineries

炼油厂持有的原油

Work-in-progress inventory is the partially finished goods waiting for completion and resale. WIP inventory is also known as inventory on the production floor. A half-assembled airliner or a partially completed yacht is often considered to be a work-in-process inventory.

在产品库存是指尚未完成且不可零售的半成品，也称为位于生产车间的库存。未完全组装的飞机或未完全制成的游艇通常被视为在产品库存。

Finished goods are products that go through the production process, and are completed and ready for sale. Retailers typically refer to this inventory as merchandise. Common examples of merchandise include electronics, clothes, and cars held by retailers.

产成品是指经过生产流程已经全部完成的可供销售的产品。零售商通常将这种库存称为商品。常见商品包括零售商持有的电子产品、衣服、汽车。

Inventory Management

存货管理

Possessing a high amount of inventory for a long time is usually not a good idea for a business. That's because of the challenges it presents, including storage costs, spoilage costs, and the threat of obsolescence.

一般来说，企业长期拥有大量库存并非好事，毕竟在仓储成本、坏品成本和产品过时等方面会面临诸多挑战。

Possessing too little inventory also has its disadvantages. For instance, a company runs the risk of market share erosion and losing profit from potential sales.

库存量太少也不行。比如，公司会面临市场份额减少、潜在销售利润减少等风险。

Inventory management forecasts and strategies, such as a just-in-time (JIT) inventory system (with backflush costing), can help companies minimize inventory costs because goods are created or received only when needed.

通过存货管理预测和策略，比如及时库存制度（采用倒推成本法），企业能够按需生产或接收商品，最大限度降低存货成本。

It's always a good idea for companies to invest in a good inventory management system. This is especially true for larger businesses with multiple sales channels and storage facilities. These systems are able to identify waste, low turnover, and fraud/robbery.

对于公司来说，投资一套良好的库存管理系统不失为良策，尤其是拥有多个销售渠道和仓储设施的大型企业。这些系统能够识别浪费现象、低周转率、欺诈/抢劫。

Inventory Turnover

存货周转率

Inventory turnover is a key part of inventory management. Also called stock turnover, this is a metric that measures how much of a company's inventory is sold, replaced, or used and how often. This figure provides insight into how profitable a company is and whether there are inefficiencies that need to be addressed.

存货周转率是存货管理的重要组成部分，也称为库存周转率，是衡量公司存货销售、更换或耗用数量以及频率的指标。通过存货周转率，能够深入了解公司的盈利能力，以及是否存在需要解决的低效问题。

Consumer demand is a key indicator that can determine whether inventory levels will turn over at a quick pace or if they won't move at all. Higher demand typically means that a company's products and services will move from the shelves into consumers' hands quickly while weak demand often leads to a slow turnover rate.

消费需求是一项关键指标，能够确定库存水平是否会快速变化或根本不会改变。消费需求较高，通常表示公司的产品和服务会很快从货架上转移到客户手中；而消费需求较低，往往导致周转率低。

A company's inventory turnover is often expressed as a ratio. The inventory turnover ratio is calculated using the following formula:

公司的存货周转率通常用比率表示，公式如下：

Inventory Ratio = COGS ÷ Average Value of Inventory

存货周转率=产品销售成本÷存货平均值

Company leaders can use this figure to make important decisions about whether they should continue to manufacture certain products and services or determine whether there are issues that need to be addressed.

公司领导可根据该数据针对是否应该继续生产某种产品和服务作出重要决策，或确定是否存在需要解决的问题。

How Do You Define Inventory?

如何定义存货？

Inventory refers to a company’s goods and products that are ready to sell, along with the raw materials that are used to produce them. Inventory can be categorized in three different ways, including raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods.

存货是指可供销售的商品和产品以及生产所述商品和产品耗用的原材料，可归为三类，即原材料、在产品、产成品。

In accounting, inventory is considered a current asset because a company typically plans to sell the finished products within a year.

在会计领域，存货被视为流动资产，因为公司通常计划在一年内销售产成品。

Methods to value the inventory include last-in, first-out, first-in, first-out, and the weighted average method.

存货的计价方法包括后进先出法、先进先出法、加权平均法。

What Is an Example of Inventory?

存货示例有哪些？

Consider a fashion retailer such as Zara, which operates on a seasonal schedule. Because of the fast fashion nature of turnover, Zara, like other fashion retailers is under pressure to sell inventory rapidly. Zara's merchandise is an example of inventory in the finished product stage. On the other hand, the fabric and other production materials are considered a raw material form of inventory.

比如，Zara这种按季节营业的时装零售商。由于具有快时尚性质，这类时装零售商面临着快速销售存货的压力。Zara的商品就是产成品阶段的存货。另一方面，布料和其他生产材料被视为原材料（存货的一种形式）。

What Can Inventory Tell You About a Business?

通过存货可以了解企业的什么信息？

One way to track the performance of a business is the speed of its inventory turnover. When a business sells inventory at a faster rate than its competitors, it incurs lower holding costs and decreased opportunity costs. As a result, they often outperform, since this helps with the efficiency of its sale of goods.

想要追踪企业的表现，可以查看该企业的存货周转速度。如果一家企业销售存货的速度比竞争对手快，其库存持有成本就更低，机会成本就会降低，商品销售效率就会提高，表现自然优于竞争对手。

The Bottom Line

总结

Inventory provides businesses with materials to keep their operations going. This includes any raw materials needed in the production of goods and services, as well as any finished goods that companies sell to consumers on the market. Managing inventory and determining the turnover rate can help companies determine just how successful they are and where they can pick up the slack when the profits begin to dry up.

存货为企业提供了维持运营的材料，包括生产商品和服务所需的原材料，以及公司在市场上向消费者出售的产成品。存货管理和周转率在一定程度上可以帮助公司取得成功，当盈利开始越来越少时，还可以帮助公司恢复盈利。