Optimization of an inventory is an important element of strategic planning of an industrial enterprise, the objectives of which are to ensure the required volume of production of finished goods, achieve minimum inventory storage costs and eliminate excessive investments of financial resources. The article describes the main approaches to inventory management, assesses their advantages and disadvantages. Using the company for the production of electrical equipment as an example, the algorithm for the quantitative allocation of the «problematic» demands in the inventory structure is proposed, this demand reduces risks from the external environment, but requires additional investments. The calculation of the parameters of the demand was performed using the resources of the ERP system and the inventory structuring model, thereby the «problem field» in the context of each inventory item has been determined for further optimization measures implementation.