1) A quantity of materials awaiting further processing. It can refer to raw materials, semi-finished stores, or hold points, or a work backlog that is purposely maintained behind a work center. 2) In the theory of constraints, buffers can be time or material, and support throughput and/or due date performance. Buffers can be maintained at the constraint, convergent points (with a constraint part), divergent points, and shipping points.

Inventory Counting 101: Your Simple Guide to Better Stock Management
Running an ecommerce business? Then you know inventory is everything. But here’s the question: do you actually know how much inventory you have right now? Many business owners think as long as they have enough products to sell, the exact count doesn’t matter. That’s a costly mistake. Accurate inventory counts