Whole life costing takes into account the total cost of a product or service over its lifetime, from concept through to disposal including purchase, hire or lease, maintenance, operation,utilities, training and disposal. Hence, it is important for those involved in the procurement and supply function to take all these elements into consideration when making decisions and comparing the costs of buying, renting or leasing equipment. In most cases the purchase costs are a small proportion of the cost of operating it. Although costly, there are numerous reasons why organisations elect to hold inventory. The management and control of such inventory is therefore vital to organisational success. This module is designed for those who will have responsibility for the whole life management of assets and enables learners to analyse methods for inventory movement and control and to analyse the concept of whole life cost.