An Investigation into Contributing Factors of Excess Inventory within The Cosmetic Industry in the UAE: An AHP analysis

Supply Chain Management (SCM) has become a significant part of the operational strategy in many organizations as they consistently thrive in retaining their market share. Thus, organizations constantly reassess their supply chains in order to reduce costs wherever viable while promoting sustainability to abide by the Green Supply Chain Management initiative. However, one of the main factors in any supply chain that opposes both these key concepts is the Excess Inventory. Retaining of Excess Inventory in a supply chain contributes to carrying costs of inventory and harmful environmental impacts. Despite all the efforts to promote sustainability in the UAE, not all organizations have awareness of the following issue. A particular pressing industry that should be assessed is the cosmetics industry given that the UAE was considered the highest consumer of cosmetics in the year 2008. This study, therefore, identifies the major contributors of Excess Inventory in the cosmetic industry in the UAE. The paper also proposes a set of recommendations in order to overcome the challenges faced with managing Excess Inventory. The implication of this research is to assist the cosmetic organizations, in the UAE, to set a benchmark to prioritize the major contributors of excess inventory.