A company's stockpile is a critical component of its success. As a general term, it refers to a company's
inventory of raw materials and completed products. Raw materials (any resources required to
manufacture completed items), work-in-progress (WIP), and finished goods (those ready for sale) are
the three main types of inventory.
On a company's balance sheet, inventory is classed as a current asset and acts as a buffer between
production and order fulfillment. Cost of goods sold (COGS) is a line item on the income statement that
shows the total cost of products sold for a certain period of time.
When it comes to consignment sales, many manufacturers work together with merchants. Inventory
kept by a client on behalf of a supplier or manufacturer (usually a wholesaler) is known as consignment
inventory (generally a retailer). Afterwards, the customer buys inventory that has been sold to the
customer or consumed by the customer (e.g., to produce their own products).
Because their product is pushed by the client and easily available to end consumers, the supplier
benefits. The client benefits from the fact that they do not have to spend money on the project until it is
beneficial to them. In other words, they only buy it when the end customer buys it from them or when
they need the inventory for their operations.