Inventories

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2019

As of the dates indicated, inventories are comprised of the following (in thousands):



	October 31,
	2019			2018
Raw materials	$	99,041		$	67,468
Work-in-process	13,657			9,589
Finished goods	226,622			188,575
Deferred cost of goods sold	53,051			48,057
	392,371			313,689
Reserve for excess and obsolescence	(47,322		)	(50,938		)
	$	345,049		$	262,751

Ciena writes down its inventory for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable inventory by an amount equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and the estimated net realizable value based on assumptions about future demand, which are affected by changes in Ciena’s strategic direction, discontinuance of a product or introduction of newer versions of products, declines in the sales of or forecasted demand for certain products, and general market conditions. During fiscal 2019, fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2017, Ciena recorded a provision for excess and obsolescence of $28.1 million, $30.6 million, and $35.5 million, respectively, primarily related to the decrease in the forecasted demand for certain Converged Packet Optical products. Deductions from the provision for excess and obsolete inventory relate to disposal activities.

The following table summarizes the activity in Ciena’s reserve for excess and obsolete inventory for the fiscal years indicated (in thousands):




Year ended	Beginning						Ending
October 31,	Balance		Provisions		Disposals		Balance
2017	$	62,503	$	35,459	$	46,756	$	51,206
2018	$	51,206	$	30,615	$	30,883	$	50,938
2019	$	50,938	$	28,085	$	31,701	$	47,322