How to Easily Manage Inventory Online
Why Should Inventory Management Be Easy?
Precise inventory management is crucial to the success of manufacturing, distribution, and e-commerce companies.
Poor inventory management can result in:
- Higher costs of materials and products when they need to be obtained on short notice
- Overstocking of materials and products when inventory is counted incorrectly
- Understocking of materials and products when they are being used and sold more quickly than they are being restocked
- Mis-picking of materials and parts and when they are not properly labeled and organized
- Customer dissatisfaction when they don’t receive the products they ordered
- Labor wasted on fixing mistakes such as mis-shipped products
- Sales being lost to competitors who keep product in stock
Companies that simplify their inventory management practices are able to save valuable time and avoid costly errors.
One way that manufacturing, distribution, and e-commerce companies can make inventory management easy is by using inventory management software.
What is Inventory Management Software?
Inventory management software is designed for the specific purpose of managing inventory, unlike Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, which are designed to be used for a wide range of purposes.
For manufacturing, distribution, and e-commerce companies operating in the 21st century, using inventory management software is a must.
Many warehouses try to control their inventory using old-fashioned pen and paper. This method has many problems, such as:
- The handwriting of one worker might not be understandable by other workers
Precious time can end up being wasted while the original worker is being located to explain the handwritten records or notations. And, that is assuming the original worker is able to understand his or her own handwriting. - Handwritten records can easily be destroyed and falsified
Records kept by hand are prone to damage, destruction, and loss. Simply becoming wet can render paper records unusable. Moreover, paper records make it difficult to track down a worker who might maliciously conceal or tamper with record entries.
Other, more tech-savvy warehouses, might control inventory with spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. It can be tempting for warehouse companies to use spreadsheets for inventory control since the software, in many cases, comes preinstalled on computers or is available on the web for free use.
Like the pen-and-paper method of controlling inventory, spreadsheets have drawbacks that specialized inventory management software does not have.
Spreadsheets are not designed to be easily auditable. With spreadsheets, it can be difficult or impossible to determine who was responsible for making what changes. Spreadsheets require inventory to be counted by hand and information to be manually inputted.
Labor-intensive inventory management does not provide real-time data. Every time products come in, are shipped out or relocated, records need to be manually entered and updated. This becomes even more difficult as your company scales and the warehouse grows.
Inventory Management Software Makes Managing Inventory Easy
When inventory management software is implemented and being used properly, companies are more effectively able to:
Save on parts and materials
This is possible because the company will always know their inventory in real time and restock early, avoiding expensive rapid freight and shipping costs. Further, the company will be able more accurately forecast the inventory levels they need based on historical data.
Organize their inventory
Inventory management software allows companies to visualize which items are typically purchased together, so they can be organized in a way to optimize the time it takes to properly pick a part or product for shipment. This helps companies to save on labor costs as well as increases the rate at which the company can timely fill orders.
Maintain inventory levels
Companies that use inventory management software face less risk of understocking or overstocking parts, materials, and products. Since companies have real-time inventory data and the ability to analyze data that has previously been collected, they will know far in advance when items need to be restocked or do not need to be reordered.
Improve customer satisfaction
Inventory management software helps companies keep accurate records of their inventory and properly maintain inventory levels. When all of your products are in stock and meet customer demand, it builds your reputation and improves customer satisfaction.
Speak With a Professional About Inventory Management Software
If your manufacturing, distribution, or e-commerce company is looking to improve the efficiency of its warehouses, DSD Business Systems can help.
Founded in 1984 in San Diego, California, DSD Business Systems is comprised of talented individuals whose #1 goal is to help businesses around the world grow and be successful through the use of software and technology, such as Acumatica.
