Inventory management aims to have the right stock, at the right levels, in the right place, at the right time, and at the right cost as well as price. A well-designed and developed inventory management system will ensure optimum inventory management.
Optimum Operating Costs
Inventory management involves significant costs. If you have an understanding of the stock-in-hand, amount of stocks in different warehouses, best time and cost to order, you will reduce costs and optimize your manufacturing process and order fulfillment functions.
Better Customer Service
Inventory control is important to maintain a balance in stocks. If you do not have enough inventory, you might not be able to fulfill orders. At the same time, you do not want to sell old stock to customers. With better control of inventory, you will get know-how of what is selling and what is not and also compute exact stock replenishment times. This will result in better customer service and higher levels of customer satisfaction.
Prevent Losses in Inventory
Overstocking can lead to unnecessary usage of space in warehouses or stores. It can also lead to products getting damaged or past their expiration date. Some stocks are used on the basis of seasons and trends. If you have too much, you will not be able to sell all the products leading to unnecessary costs and expenses related to disposal. Without proper inventory control, it is difficult to control pilferage, theft, and spoilage. A good inventory management system will optimize stock management and reduce losses.
Better Profitability
A software application for inventory management controls the movement of stocks and tracks errors and defects in the stocking process and stocks. It automates all the functions leading to optimization of processes. It supports warehouses in better space management. It optimizes the buying and selling of goods. This leads to higher efficiency, reduced costs and better profitability.
Features of Inventory Management Systems
The main functions that an inventory management application are -
Order Management
The system will allow you to plan and track all orders across multiple sales channels in a centralized manner. You can manage purchase orders and fulfill sale transactions. Create packages for different orders and manage the shipping through the software. Send delivery updates to customers and updates inventory records with sales data and returns. Integrate the system with online payment channels so that the sales transactions are easily and securely processed.
Inventory Control
Organize inventory based on parameters like price, cost, availability, and SKU in the system. View product details and product history. You can set up reorder levels for all items, reminders to order, and list out preferred vendors for your products. The system will provide barcode scanning. You can scan barcodes of items and update stock levels automatically when you create an invoice, sales or purchase order. Be on top of your inventory information as the system will be able to track every stock item throughout its lifecycle. Monitor stocks’ expiry dates. The system will allow you to increase and decrease stock levels for returns, damages, shrinkage, and promotions. The system will maintain traceability across your inventory.
Reporting and Analytics
The software will help you improve inventory management by generating inventory reports. Some of the reports generated are product details report, stock on hand report, historic inventory report, stock reorder report, inventory report for stocks in different stages of in the purchase and sales cycles. Demand forecast reports will allow you to predict sales and also manage your purchases and restocking. End users can customize reports for data on location, date, type and supplier details. It can generate sales reports based on customers, sales channels, products, variants and employees responsible for sales. Other reports include sales history reports, sales volume, and profitability reports. You can generate metric based reports and analytic reports regarding sales forecasts, customers’ buying patterns, etc. You will be able to analyze your sales data on parameters such as best customers, popular products, best sales channels, etc.
Warehouse Management
Warehousing is an important aspect of inventory management. The software will allow you to manage physical space for stocking units and transfer of stocks between warehouses. It will allow you to select warehouses closest to customers while dispatching orders. You can view stock levels in warehouses and manage the flow of stock from warehouses to stores. You can define and control inventory locations in terms of warehouses, bins, and the type of item stored in each bin.
NCrypted’s inventory management software streamlines the business tasks in inventory management so that you have total control over your inventory operations. It will enable you to set up a fine balance between supply and demand and thereby optimizing costs and revenues.
