Learn how a mobile inventory management system can:
- Identify common inventory management errors
- Make your inventory process and cycle counts more accurate
- Improve communication between the warehouse, management and the back-office ERP
Effective inventory management requires reducing errors that frequently occur. While there are more ways to identify inventory errors than ever, there’s still a fair chance of committing mistakes. Taking the right precautions in your inventory process can minimize costly discrepancies. A good way to avoid inventory errors is to understand and address common inventory management mistakes and adopt the right strategy to successfully prevent them.
Common inventory mistakes:
- Human error:A technician misplaces inventory or takes a wrong item, leading to a discrepancy.
- Inadequate training:Inadequate stock-handling instruction often leads staff members to commit mistakes.
- Erroneous data entry:This is the most common error that creeps up during the inventory audit. With manual data entry, a staffer could press a wrong button or misread information, leading to erroneous data.
- Incorrect picking method:An organization can have multiple picking methods, but if a worker chooses the wrong one, it can result in data inaccuracy.
- Disorganized warehouse:A poorly set up or mismanaged warehouse simply throws inventory into a pile, with products spilling into the aisles. This leads to incorrect accounting.
- Poorcommunication: Lack of transparent communication between warehouses about what is entering and leaving or failing to communicate inventory counts to senior management can lead to data discrepancies and poor decision making.
While these are the most common errors, there could be many more, which could make this list. Luckily, you can control many of these errors by adopting the right planning and warehouse management strategy.
How these common mistakes can affect your business
Inventory discrepancy can cause severe problems and hamper corporate profitability. These problems include:
- Audit problems:Correcting inaccurate inventory counts wastes valuable time and resources.
- Loss in revenue and efficiency:Time spent rectifying mistakes costs revenue and ties up resources that could better be used elsewhere.
- Angry customers:Mistakes in inventory lead to customer dissatisfaction due to delayed shipping and mismatches in ordered vs delivered merchandise.
- Poor employee morale:A poorly designed or inefficient inventory management system causes more stress for your employees, cutting
- High inventory holding costs:When planning is based on inaccurate inventory, it can lead to high inventory holding costs.
Mitigating inventory inaccuracies using a mobile inventory solution
A user-friendly mobile inventory management system minimizes mistakes and boosts efficiencies. Innovapptive, a mobile-first digital transformation provider, has developed mInventory, a robust solution that enables users to avoid the common errors addressed here. Use mInventory to accurately determine supply levels; track receipts, movements and consumption; and better control costs as part of an optimized, efficient inventory and warehouse management process.
With mInventory, you can:
- Replace paper-based cycle count sheets, pick tickets, and scratch pads with a customizable, real-time digital solution.
- Scan 1D or 2D and QR codes to ship and receive inventory using any handheld devices, including mobile phones, tablets, and external peripherals.
- Conduct inbound/outbound transactions.
- Perform goods receipts, goods issues and transfer posting.
- Track stock movement with precision across plants, storage locations, trucks, and bins.
- View inventory and warehouse stock levels.
- Carry out cycle counts, including blind counting from the warehouse floor.
- Improve real-time communication between workers in the warehouse, senior management, and back-office enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
- Access accurate, verified data to gain a clearer picture of inventorytrends, leading to more knowledgeable planning and forecasting.
To learn more about mInventory and how it optimizes the warehouse and supply chain process, schedule a free demo today by calling 844-464-6668 or by clicking here.
