Leadership is often about making decisions before your options start to disappear. That idea shows up clearly in how organizations manage their workforce. And the fact is that the damage rarely stays “in the warehouse.” Bad inventory data turns into maintenance downtime, schedule slips, excess and obsolete inventory, write offs, shrink, and safety risk when the wrong part or wrong condition gets issued.

If you are missing inventory, you may end up buying parts you already own because you cannot find them, your inventory tech loses hours looking for an item, and you end up expediting shipments for time sensitive items that are out of stock. And the fact is that the damage rarely stays “in the warehouse.” Bad inventory data turns into maintenance downtime, schedule slips, excess and obsolete inventory, write offs, shrink, and safety risk when the wrong part or wrong condition gets issued.

Christine Hopkins, President and CEO of the ASCI Family of Companies (ASCI), has been named a winner of the 2026 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards, an annual tribute to the world’s top women entrepreneurs.