How Do Injection Molding Companies Manage Inventory?
Learn how injection molding companies manage resin, masterbatch, additives, molds, inserts, packing material, regrind, WIP, finished goods, and batch traceability with ERP.
How Do Injection Molding Companies Manage Inventory?
Injection molding companies manage inventory by tracking resin, masterbatch, additives, inserts, molds, regrind, packing material, WIP, finished goods, rejection, and dispatch stock. The inventory system must also connect material lots to production batches and customer orders.
Inventory in injection molding is more than counting bags of resin. A factory needs to know which resin grade is available, which lot is approved, which mold is ready, which inserts are short, which finished goods are packed, which WIP is pending quality, and how much regrind can be reused.
If this is handled manually, production planning becomes fragile. A machine may be free but the mold is not ready. Resin may be in stock but under quality hold. Inserts may be short. Finished goods may be produced but not packed. The ERP must make these realities visible.
AICAN Optiwise helps injection molding companies connect inventory with production, quality, dispatch, and costing.
Resin Inventory
Resin is usually a major cost item. ERP should track resin by:
- Grade
- Supplier
- Batch or lot
- Location
- Quality status
- Available quantity
- Reserved quantity
- Issue to production
- Balance stock
This helps prevent wrong material issue and supports batch traceability.
Masterbatch And Additives
Masterbatch, colourants, fillers, additives, and other materials should be controlled carefully because small quantities can affect product quality.
ERP should connect these items to BOMs and production batches so consumption is visible.
Mold Inventory
Molds are production assets, not normal stock. Still, they need inventory-like control.
Track:
- Mold code
- Part linked to mold
- Customer ownership
- Location
- Maintenance status
- Repair status
- Compatible machine
- Cavity count
- Availability
This prevents production plans from failing because a mold is missing, damaged, or under maintenance.
Inserts And Bought-Out Parts
Many molded parts use metal inserts, labels, fasteners, or bought-out components. These must be available before production starts.
ERP should show shortages before the machine is scheduled. Insert shortage during production creates machine waiting and delivery delay.
Regrind Inventory
Regrind must be tracked separately from virgin resin. It should have status, source, quantity, allowed usage, and quality restrictions.
Uncontrolled regrind can create quality problems. Controlled regrind can reduce waste and improve material efficiency.
WIP And Finished Goods
Injection molding inventory should include WIP, semi-finished goods, inspected stock, rejected stock, hold stock, packed stock, and dispatch-ready stock.
This matters because produced quantity is not always saleable quantity. Quality and packing status must be visible.
Inventory And Production Planning
Inventory should connect directly with production planning. Before a job is released, the planner should know whether resin, masterbatch, inserts, mold, packing material, and quality requirements are ready.
This reduces machine idle time and emergency purchase.
Where AICAN Optiwise Fits
AICAN Optiwise helps injection molding companies manage resin lots, molds, inserts, regrind, WIP, finished goods, quality status, and dispatch readiness in one connected ERP system.
The goal is simple: production should not stop because the team discovered inventory reality too late.
Founder’s Note
At AICAN, we believe inventory in molding is closely tied to production discipline. Material, mold, machine, and quality must be visible together. If one is hidden, the plan becomes unreliable.
AICAN Optiwise is built to make that connection practical for manufacturers. Read more on About AICAN.
FAQs
What inventory should injection molding companies track?
They should track resin, masterbatch, additives, inserts, molds, regrind, WIP, finished goods, rejected stock, hold stock, packing material, and dispatch stock.
Why is resin lot tracking important?
It helps trace raw material usage to production batches and customer deliveries, which supports quality and complaint investigation.
Should molds be tracked in ERP?
Yes. Mold location, availability, maintenance status, cavity count, and compatibility affect production planning.
Can ERP track regrind?
Yes. ERP can track regrind generation, usage, quality status, and allowed percentage by product or customer requirement.
Why is WIP tracking important?
WIP tracking shows what has been produced but is not yet inspected, packed, or dispatch-ready.
How can AICAN Optiwise help?
AICAN Optiwise helps injection molding companies connect inventory, molds, production, quality, dispatch, and costing.
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