The Requirements Determination Process Can Be Improved at NASA's Langley Research Center

Gao ID: PLRD-82-56 March 15, 1982

GAO completed a review of the requirements determination process for stores stocks at the Langley Research Center.

Langley manages a stores stock inventory of about 8,000 items, with an inventory value of about $2.6 million. Stores stock items consist of general support type items of an expendable nature. Thus, Langley uses an ordering method designed to optimize the tradeoffs between the cost of carrying on-hand stock and the cost of repetitive procurement. Improper decisions concerning when and how much to buy result in unnecessary inventory management costs and cause the inventory management activity to maintain and store either too much or too little stock. In either case, resources are not used prudently, and the benefits of optimum stock levels are lost.



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