A terribly underrated factor in business today is inventory management. How well a company manages product through the process of development and delivery is critical to its lasting success. That's one of the reasons that "New Economy" companies have generated such value in the 1990s. Engaged in intellectual capital, many of them have little or no inventory to manage.

On the other side of the coin, consider Nike (NYSE: NKE). Over the past four years, its stock has gone nowhere as inventory counts have ranged ever higher. Apparently, selling more and more $150 pairs of athletic shoes ain't easy. Nike has overproduced and undersold its shoes and other athletic gear for five years running. As an investor, you'll want to track inventory growth against sales growth -- hoping the latter runs higher than the former. For years, unfortunately, Nike's inventory has outgrown sales. In its most recent quarter, sales were up just 1.5%, while inventories rose 15.7%. Not good.

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