Categorizing WIP inventories in the food industry

Purpose – The food and beverage industry, particularly the agro‐processing and packaging industry, plays a critical role in the economies of Latin America and Caribbean countries. To remain competitive and to increase competitiveness, companies operating in this industry must achieve operational efficiency – where one contributing factor would be the efficient management of their work‐in‐progress (WIP) inventories. Design/methodology/approach – Constructs from related manufacturing management research areas such as manufacturing strategy and coordination theory, are incorporated into a conceptual framework to examine the reasons WIP are needed in food plants. The framework is used to inform the development of an audit tool, which is applied in a case study. Findings – An audit tool is proposed, which can be used by practitioners to review the structural and infrastructural decisions that impact WIP. Research limitations/implications – The audit tool is applied in one case study. Further application of the tool will test its overall comprehensiveness. Practical implications – The audit tool can be used as part of a structured decision making process. Originality/value – The paper brings together a number of constructs to create an audit tool that can be used in both greenfield and existing plants in the food industry.