Inventory Management Support with Walsh Door & Security

Walsh Door & Security, founded in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1930, is the Midwest’s leading provider of premium commercial door, frame, hardware and electronic security products and services. Walsh is one of an estimated dozen U.S. companies that provide both physical doors and the electronic control systems that go with them as part of modern security operations. The family-owned company serves the commercial, industrial and institutional construction markets, as well as schools, universities, hospitals, clinics, data centers and other end users, including small businesses. Walsh Door & Security employs 90 people.

Dave Hunt, hardware inventory control manager for Walsh Door & Security, said the company needed help with the different ways to calculate inventory, such as the value of the inventory on the shelf, the cost of it sitting on the shelf, or how many times the inventory turned. Hunt turned to classes offered by CIRAS, part of the MEP National Network™, for assistance.

Hunt attended a CIRAS Inventory Management 101 class taught by CIRAS Project Manager Marc Schneider in 2017. Schneider later worked individually with Hunt and his team to help Walsh Door & Security understand how to calculate the minimum amount of stock required and set appropriate targets. Walsh went from carrying roughly $600,000 worth of locksets at its Des Moines warehouse to roughly $430,000.