Managing Your Inventories with An Inventory System

In this digital age where online sales make up a significant share in the international market, putting up a business has become extra challenging, painstaking, stressful, and time-consuming because of the tight and wide competition. Controlling inventory and catering to the expectations of customers are an additional responsibility that can push the management to the limit. Because of this, more businesses are turning to digital solutions such as inventory systems that can aid in maintaining accurate and sufficient inventory, eradicating overstocking and inventory wastage, and enhancing time and cost-efficiency.

A good inventory system is vital for a modern business’s success. However, with a huge number of inventory systems marketed today, the selection process can get overwhelming and extra challenging. Luckily, there is a good way through this. That is by selecting the best inventory system through various considerations and factors.

Introduction to Inventory System

Also known as inventory control software, inventory software, or inventory management software, an inventory system is a type of advanced computer program that is designed to address the challenges and loopholes present in the manual inventory management approach. It aims to control and manage a company’s stocks by monitoring and maintaining all item-related information and attributes, simplifying item pricing, keeping an effective stock level, and providing inventory-related reports that can help managers and business owners come up with an edgy and smart business decision. There are more advanced inventory systems that can aid in demand analysis and forecasting, and extensive warehouse management.

While businesses can thrive or survive with manual inventory management, the latter can put the business’s chances of booming at stake. With its highly error-prone, inefficient, and unreliable management processes that often lead to overstocking, having untimely stock-outs, and erroneous rollout of capital, there is more likelihood for the business to suffer from wastage or loss of income than to gain. This is why investing in an inventory system has become a popular effective solution.

The price range of inventory systems may not be a joke but how such a digital inventory solution promises a maximized return of investment makes investing a common decision among businessmen.

An inventory system is said to be very beneficial through the following ways:

• Having a reliable monitoring of stock movements, thereby allowing managers and business owners to act ahead of reorder points and reducing warehousing costs.
• Reducing the incidence of loss or theft due to proper monitoring and high visibility of item movements.
• Enhanced customer satisfaction as the business can meet customer demands diligently and consistently.
• Smart inventory monitoring measures that reduce costs incurred due to inventory packing, picking, or shipping.

Specifically, the above mentioned benefits are realized through:

1. Reliable and Comprehensive Product Management

Businesses especially in the retail industry need a proper stock management procedure to be able to meet the demands of various customers. However, ensuring that enough stocks are on hand is a responsibility that needs a brain to handle. Thankfully, with a good inventory system, retail businesses are likely to put an end to product overstocking or under stocking, thus allowing a smooth flow of cash resources and reducing unnecessary storage expenses. An inventory system is designed to act as a comprehensive solution of managing inventory items taking essential inventory areas into account.

2. Inventory Process Automation

We are now living in a highly competitive, digital age. That means if your business is still doing things manually, you will not earn a spot and it will eventually lose its chances of booming. On the other hand, deciding to shift to digital solutions like an inventory system will help you get that competitive edge.

In terms of automation and integration of inventory processes, your inventory system gets things covered. It utilizes the barcode technology to fast-track the recording of item movements, thereby facilitating a strengthened, reliable, and accurate inventory database. It also prompts when stocks are at still or overstocking or stock-outs are nearing along with other reporting facilities that can be used with just a few clicks so that business owners and managers can be steps ahead in making decisions.

Moreover, other improved features offered by an inventory system which every company can surely gain from are the following:

• Reduced theft or loss
• Enhanced supply visibility
• Improved financial status and rollout
• More accurate and real-time data reporting
• Automatic Generation of Purchase Requests and Orders
• Reducing storage wastes
• Optimizing warehouse usage
• Controlling inventory purchase, transfers, and shipments

Inventory System Features

A lot of benefits have been promised from using an inventory system but how are these benefits realized?

The above mentioned perks are made possible because of the following features:

1. Item Monitoring and Counting. By using the system, users can easily track the ins and outs of inventory items. The barcode scanning facilitates quick updating of what goes in and what comes out of the warehouse. Comes with this is a detailed report of the inventory performance on a periodic basis.
2. Item Categorization. The system allows users to categorize items according to their common attributes that will help achieve an advanced item tracking. These attributes commonly include color, size, type, price category, batch code, manufacturing and expiry date.
3. Comprehensive Search Facility. This common feature allows users to easily monitor every item in the inventory. Depending on the system’s advancement, it can also allow the users to add their parameters to deliver the data that they frequently need.
4. Item Location Monitoring. This feature saves the actual location and whereabouts of every inventory item from the picking, packing, up to the shipping phase. If it is more sophisticated, it can even simulate a graphic presentation of the actual warehouse to help save time in locating items.
5. Inventory Costing. This feature defines the cost value of inventory individually, by group, or as a whole. It aids in monitoring the company’s profitability by utilizing cost accounting methods like FIFO (First-In, First-Out), LIFO (Last-In, First-Out), Average Costing, etc.
6. Other Premium Features. These features which a standard inventory system is less likely going to include are price management, material billing, inventory audit management, cost tracking, catch weight tracking and other functionalities that can aid in warehouse management.