Inventory control actions are often misdirected.
Finished goods inventory is committed when a production run is scheduled. If the schedule is not in sync with consumer demand, we would inevitably face the twin problems of stockouts and excess inventory. Any efforts to tweak or optimize the distribution plan will have only limited impact on the inventory health.
A pre-requisite for having the right finished goods inventory is the dynamic synchronization between consumer demand and production schedule.
How responsive and flexible is your production scheduling?