He paused, then, surprising Lloyd, he turned his gaze directly towards him again. There was no challenge in the tutor's eyes this time, but something else. Genuine curiosity? A desire to test the waters again, perhaps?
"Lord Ferrum," Master Elm said, his voice carefully neutral, drawing the attention of the entire class once more. "Yesterday, you offered perspectives on resource management. Applying that... efficiency-minded approach, what are your thoughts on the practicalities of managing stocked goods? Optimizing the stockpile, so to speak?"
The room grew quiet. Heads turned. This wasn't a direct challenge to established theory, but an invitation to elaborate, to apply his thinking to a different facet of the same problem.
Lloyd met the tutor's gaze calmly. This, he could work with. "Thank you, Master Elmsworth. An important consideration." He gathered his thoughts, translating decades of exposure to Earth's supply chain obsession into digestible concepts. "As you say, having sufficient stock is critical. But perhaps the cost of holding that stock is often underestimated."
"Cost?" Elm frowned slightly. "Beyond the initial purchase price, you mean?"
"Precisely," Lloyd confirmed. "Every crate sitting in that warehouse," he gestured towards the diagram, "represents capital – coin – that isn't earning anything. It's static. Worse, it's actively at risk."
"Risk?" another student, a stout youth named Borin whose family dealt in imported spices, piped up. "Beyond the odd rat or leaky roof, you mean?"
"Those too," Lloyd acknowledged with a nod towards Borin. "But also the risk of the market changing. What if demand for that spice suddenly drops because a cheaper alternative appears? What if a new preservation technique makes hoarding winter apples unnecessary? The longer goods sit, the more vulnerable they are not just to physical decay, but to becoming irrelevant."
Elm stroked his chin thoughtfully. "An undeniable risk, but difficult to quantify. Easier to ensure ample supply."
"Perhaps," Lloyd allowed. "But what if we shift the focus slightly? Instead of just how much we have, we track how fast it moves?"
"Moves?" Elm looked perplexed.
"Inventory turnover," Lloyd supplied the term, seeing the same flicker of confusion and intrigue as yesterday. "If goods are selling quickly, capital is constantly being freed up, risks are minimized. A warehouse full of goods nobody wants is a monument to failure, no matter how large."
"But predicting demand!" Elm countered, latching onto the core problem. "It's guesswork! Rumours! Old news!"
"Difficult, yes," Lloyd agreed swiftly. "Impossible? Perhaps not entirely. Diligent record-keeping. Tracking actual sales, not just shipments. Noticing which items gather dust. Even simple trends – more wool needed before winter, more preserved fruit selling after a poor harvest. It's not sorcery, just… paying closer attention to the flow."
"Hm." Elm seemed unconvinced but intrigued. "Even with better information, acquiring smaller lots more frequently… the transport! The risk of delays! A single broken wagon axle…"
"…could leave shelves bare," Lloyd finished the thought. "Absolutely a risk. Which is why a buffer stock is still essential. But the size of that buffer might be optimized. And maybe the focus shouldn't just be on acquiring goods efficiently, but storing them efficiently too."
"How so?" Elm pressed, genuinely engaged now.
"Simple things," Lloyd shrugged. "Better warehouse design – raised floors against damp, tighter construction against pests. Proper ventilation. Systematic rotation – ensuring the oldest stock is always sold first, not buried at the back until it rots." He ticked the points off mentally. Basic warehousing 101 from Earth. "These aren't radical changes, but chipping away at that 'accepted loss' percentage could significantly boost net profits over time."
He leaned back, having laid out the core principles: track turnover, improve forecasting (however basic), optimize acquisition frequency where possible, and reduce storage losses through better practices. Manage the flow, not just the pile.
Master Elmsworth stared at him, no longer agitated, but deeply thoughtful. He absently tapped the chalk against the slate board, his mind clearly grappling with the implications. The other students were a mix of frantic note-takers and utterly bewildered onlookers. Borin, the spice merchant's son, looked particularly pensive.
"Inventory turnover…" Master Elm murmured again, the phrase seeming less alien now. "Sales velocity… systematic rotation…" He looked up, meeting Lloyd's eyes directly. The skepticism was gone, replaced by a clear, undeniable glimmer of intellectual respect. "This… requires a different mindset. A shift from passive holding to active management."
A silent notification chimed in Lloyd's mind.
[System Notification: Knowledge Shared!]
[Analysis: User applied advanced economic/logistical principles (Inventory Turnover, Basic JIT Concepts, Data-Driven Forecasting, Loss Reduction Strategies) relevant to the current discussion topic.]
[Result: Tutor impressed. Established thinking potentially broadened.]
[Reward Issued: 2 System Coins (SC)]
[Current Balance: 8 SC]
[Note: Efficiency is logical. System approves.]