Global Journal of Management and Business Research, A: Administration and Management, Volume 22 Issue 8

Inventory Management and Control Systems in Covid-19 Pandemic Era: An Exploratory Study of Selected Health Institutions in Anambra State, Nigeria invested. This is by reducing the cost of holding stock of inventory so as increase both profit and operating cash flow that simultaneously leads to an improved corporate performance (Iliemena & Amedu, 2019). But the contributions of IM would equal to nothing if proper ICS is not installed to help minimize the very inventory cost for the purpose of maximizing profit margins. Additionally, IM is stronger and more effective when the inventory control procedures have been properly implemented to facilitate an optimal stock level that allows for the best utilization of inventory resource. No firm will ever be as efficient as it would want when the firm has not implemented sound IM and ICS that would guarantee optimal level of medical supplies (Mwangi, 2016). It is through proper inventory management of stock of drugs that hospitals or pharmaceutical firms can ensure that patient service level is considerably adequate since insufficiency of stock is detrimental and excessive stock is wasteful. There could be reasons for a hospital to hold excessive stock of materials more because of uncertainty in demand by patients for drugs and related products and medical services. The sorts of things that are put into consideration during inventory management and control processes are the modalities for the purchase of stocks that are commensurate with both internal and external demands, changing usage patterns, seasonal variation, and monitoring for expiration and pilferage. This therefore make it necessary that health institutions review their inventory management and control systems periodically especially when there is massive global change like the changes currently induced by the covid- 19 pandemic, to ascertain the continuous suitability of the old system in the new structure of events. b) Theoretical Framework i. Theory of Economic Order Quantity Model According to Mwangi (2016), the major and first proponent of the economic order quantity (EOQ) model was Haris in 1913 that used the model to determine the optimal level of inventory. In line with the propositions of the first proponent, economic order quantity entails the level of inventory that can both minimize inventory ordering cost and also inventory holding cost. Ziukov (2015) put this in another way when the researcher submitted that economic order quantity as a model is primarily meant to be used when determining an optimal ordering size that will not only minimize ordering but will also minimise the sum of both carrying costs and ordering costs of inventory. There are some assumptions that guide the application of this model to business realities. One of the assumptions is that demand is certain, i.e. demand must equal annual total quantity that is ordered by the firm at any point in time (Ziukov, 2015). Of essence, economic order quantity model puts into consideration a tradeoff between ordering cost and storage cost while making policies and decisions on the quantity to order and use as regards replenishing inventory items. Ordering a larger quantity of inventory practically reduces ordering frequency and by implication reduces total ordering costs but would require a more spacious storage capacity and increases holding or storage cost. There are holding costs that reduce ordering costs increase and vice versa until there is a minimum point on the cost curve where the sum of ordering costs and holding costs will be barest with the best optimal stock level. The costs that are incurred when an additional unit of inventory is procured is called ordering costs carrying costs are the inventory costs that are incurred for storing or holding stock. According to Mwangi (2016), economic order quantity is therefore determined by the intersection of carrying cost line and ordering cost curve, where the total ordering cost equals the total carrying cost (Kumar, 2016). The relevance of the theory to the study is that economic order quantity model is expected to be useful to health institution in the Covid-19 pandemic era by providing an optimal order quantity of medical supplies that minimizes total inventory cost in stock-out or expiration. This model is applied in inventory management and control that is applicable to the management of not only raw materials but also work-in- progress and finished goods. As a model for inventory control, EOQ model proposes that the purchase and storage of inventory, using either periodic review system and re-order level system, should be carried out in such a way as to make sure that there is no excess or under stocking at a given point in time. To this end, this theory makes a good argument that supports the relationship between inventory control and management and this informed the need to anchor the study upon the theory. ii. Lean Theory Lean theory proposes that inventory systems should be designed in a way that optimizes costs of inventory. According to Atnafu and Assefa (2018), the lean theory augments the thoughts of Just-in-Time model and puts buffer stock into consideration while it advocates for the minimization of wastages in production procedure. On the note that inventory leanness significantly influences the productivity of health institutions (Iliemena, Goodluck & Amedu, 2020), lean theory is of the view that optimal inventory level should be maintained. Through this theory, the shortcomings of the economic order quantity model are considerably addressed because the lean theory also borrows foundation from the EOQ model that solely seeks to optimize the quantity of any batch of inventory ordered (Musau, Namusonge, Makokha & Ngeno, 2017). Lean theory just like JIT emphasizes that a pull- based system should be put in place to help the organisation align the production and business processes throughout the supply chain and inventory 47 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue VIII Version I Year 2022 ( ) A © 2022 Global Journals