Whether or not records are kept of supplies depends on a number of factors such as the cost of supplies, use of supplies (for consumption versus for use in manufacturing or billable services), the cost of poor supply record keeping versus the cost of keeping records and so forth. However, for higher value, higher volume supplies that are considered direct costs, a computerized inventory management system should be used to track supplies. This is important for a number of reasons including accounting accuracy, replenishment efficiency, and others.