112 Matrritils mid Their Handling 



c. Supplies all material which does not enter 

 into the product or could not be identified with 

 any one order, such as files, emery cloth, machine 

 oil, belt dressing, etc. 



d. Raw stores. 



e. Work in progress. 



f. Finished stock. 



g. Obsolete, defective, and returned stock. 



The inventorying of the plant and equipment is 

 comparatively an easy matter. Inventorying of 

 the rest of the items (d to g), which come under 

 the general head of materials, is much more diffi- 

 cult, because the materials are varying continually 

 in quantity, are moving about the plant, and are 

 in all stages of manufacture. It is here that the 

 main problem of making an inventory is centered. 



There are two general methods in use, the per- 

 petual inventory or stores ledger method, and the 

 physical inventory or actual count. There is much 

 controversy as to which of these two methods is 

 the better. 



Perpetual Inventories. The perpetual inven- 

 tory aims to give detailed information monthly, 

 weekly, daily, or even hourly if necessary, of the 

 state of material on hand and the rate of con- 

 sumption. When a financial statement is wanted, 

 a balance is struck on the stores inventory accounts 

 in the same way and at the same time that the 

 financial accounts are balanced. 



Two methods of keeping perpetual inventory 

 are in use. In one, the receipts and issues of ma- 



