Priyanka Bhadani4/15/2022An inventory management system is a type of computer software that is used to manage the flow of goods and materials within a supply chain, often with the aim of reducing costs.
Amid all the multi-tasking one needs to do in a small business or even a mid-sized business, one of the trickiest is to keep track of inventory. Most small businesses struggle to stay organized when it comes to inventory management. And that in short explains the importance of having inventory management software. A simple Inventory Management software can help you keep track of your inventory and keep your business running smoothly. Inventory management software is a great way to keep track of how much inventory you have, what products need to be ordered, and how much is your inventory's worth.
A simple inventory management solution can help in real time inventory tracking, resource planning, and distributing inventory tasks among the staff, managing purchase orders and sales orders, thus giving a business a good hold over Inventory Control. Inventory management solutions help businesses with a number of tools that easily integrate with other tech solutions like accounting software and point of sale (POS) systems that the businesses are already using. It makes the job of business owners and inventory managers a lot easier. You save time, and can choose to focus on other business needs such as marketing or expansion plans.
In this article, we're going to give you a quick overview of what a simple inventory management software can do for your business.
Inventory Management helps businesses identify what and the amount of stock that needs replenishment at the right time. Simple inventory management tracks inventory from purchase to the sale of goods. It identifies and responds to trends as well as the solution ensures there's always enough stock to fulfill customer orders and if not, you keep getting stock alerts that notifies you of a shortage well in time. For instance, the best inventory software helps in real time tracking every time an inventory item is used to fulfill a purchase order, the inventory management software tracks the usage. It notifies the kitchen staff and managers of the stock levels in real time, guiding them to place orders before a product runs out. The purchase orders could be placed from the software. The best inventory management software also streamlines operation by inventory tracking, supply chain management, time to time updation (per month or per week basis) of order management sales order, purchase order etc, and lets one oversee multiple locations of a business with accuracy, it is easier to streamline business operations.
Some benefits of implementing a simple inventory management solution are-
Simple inventory software solution can keep your business running smoothly and efficiently. But sometimes, setbacks can kick in even in the most advanced technology. Even the best software will fail if the supporting elements are not conducive to its system and if the implementation isn't proper. Such hindrances can impact expenses, processing time, and pricing decisions. The reasons for these setbacks could be many, some of the common ones are-
Being aware of your business's stock levels is one of the key factors of building up your business. Keeping track of stock levels, ordering new stock and tracking returns is essential not just for a profitable business, but also to ensure a regular supply and compliance with return guidelines. Implementing a simple inventory management software, can help in streamlining operations.
The options available to choose from are just limitless. There are a variety of software solutions available, ranging from simple spreadsheet alternatives for small businesses to advanced supply chain software. Most of these solutions offer a variety of integrated features in their free plan, and a lot of advanced features in paid plans. Some of these are software for smaller businesses that need to keep track of a limited number of items, while others focus on bigger businesses that need to keep track of a huge volume of stock.
For instance, Zoho Inventory is a popular small business pick for businesses with multi-channel selling needs. It provides low stock alerts, kitting and bundling options, and multiple integrations to ecommerce platforms, CRM apps, and payment gateways. It also gives your business shipping tools, allowing you to print packing slips and generate shipping labels. This allows you to sync data across sales channels for easier management of stock levels and inventory costs.
There are a lot of ways to enhance your simple Inventory Management software with a few add-ons. Read on to know the three most effective ways to get more from your simple inventory management software.
Integrate Inventory Management Software with Point of Sale
Point of Sale (POS) systems are extremely handy if you have a small business. They eliminate the need to handle cash or check payments. Instead, card payments can be processed through a POS system. That also allows a business to track sales statistics. Managing inventory and accounting for each and every sale your business makes isn't easy. It involves a lot of processes like keeping a tab on stock levels, having sales orders in control, managing returns, and understanding the sales potential. In a competitive retail market, it's important to have systems that work to your advantage. POS integrated with inventory management systems helps in a smooth business functioning by improving efficiency and automating some of the most difficult tasks.
For instance, Zoho Inventory is one of the best free inventory management software designed to help small and growing businesses effortlessly manage their inventory across multiple channels and devices. It easily integrates with a point of sale system to manage sales and purchase orders, create packages and shipments, and send delivery updates through a single order management system. While its free version has many features, there are a lot of add-ons available in its paid plans.
Track Inventory with a Barcode Scanner
Barcodes are not only a label to include on the products. Large as well as small businesses gain an edge by using barcodes for their inventory and order management. The use of barcodes allows a business to keep an accurate account of the inventory. The process is swift with minimal chances of human error. A barcode is always unique to a product. Hence, you cannot make any mistake in your document by scanning the product in your hand. The use of barcodes to manage inventory has a lot of advantages. It helps in-
Opt for a Cloud-Based Inventory System
A cloud-based inventory management system is an inventory control software hosted at an offsite data center, which is accessible from a web browser or mobile app. The software allows multiple users to access the records from their own locations without any risk of company records becoming compromised. And, with web-based inventory control, everything is updated in real time and stored on the cloud, so you don't have to worry about losing data. Cloud-based inventory management software handles inventory management tasks including inventory tracking, order fulfillment, updating inventory levels on the company's sales platforms, stock alerts and tracking sales information.
For instance, QuickBooks Online Inventory Management Software, a cloud-based inventory software has features that go beyond basic inventory management. It helps you stay up-to-date on inventory levels and sales data, manages all your sales channels on one platform, creates and updates listings across all channels, lets you easily add new sales platforms, tracks inventory and order fulfillment, and gets you access to powerful insights into your sales data.
