What if, What if, What if…
The challenge is maintaining the right amount of inventory at any given time, despite the many dynamic factors
Inventory management is the process of moving parts and products in and out of a company’s location. Customers keep on ordering and the business needs to ensure that they are able to serve their customers within the promised timeframe. They need to ensure that they remain stocked with products which the customers demand. This is a complicated process which involves a number of ‘what if’ scenarios.
First of all, companies need to maintain an optimum amount of inventory. As products get sold, they must be replenished at a certain rate, balanced without over-stocking or shortage. Added to this, there are seasonal changes in demand that supply chain managers need to consider.
For this, businesses need to manage their inventory on an ongoing basis. Supply chain managers need to completely understand the entire supply chain and inventory management process. They should understand the importance of having an end-to-end inventory management system that can ensure optimum inventory and lower costs. The system should also help resolve inventory management challenges by finding the right solutions. Inventory management is thus about hitting the bulls-eye in terms of maintaining the right amount of inventory at any given time, keeping in mind a number of dynamic factors.
Look for lean and streamlined operations
Smart inventory management systems can foresee future peaks and troughs of demand, optimize inventory, and ensure transparency.
Companies therefore turn to technology that can help them with their inventory management needs. ERP is one such technology but it does come with its limitations. Apart from the fact that ERP installation and consultations are very expensive, and the results can only be seen after a long period of time, a lot of hindrance is created if the workforce isn’t well trained to use the system, which again is quite complicated and needs heavy training before implementation. Much of ERP success depends on information sharing. Resistance in sharing internal information among the different functions can drastically reduce ERP effectiveness.
In order to counter some of the ERP disadvantages, companies are looking out for smart inventory management systems that can track and manage all inventory needs, keeping your operations leaner and more streamlined, with lower costs.
The number one advantage that a technologically advanced inventory management system provides is accuracy of inventory orders. Supply chain managers are able to better optimize the orders, thus keeping the right amount of products stocked in hand, without shooting up the cost.
That’s not all, inventory management systems can also predict your future capacity requirements. An advanced inventory management system makes everything from inputting information to taking inventory much quicker and easier.
Another important benefit is that such systems provide complete visibility of the supply chain. Inventory management software allows businesses to get hold of insights and actionable information on both inbound and outbound product flows. It thus gives managers the overall view of the entire supply chain, allowing them to take informed actions and dig down to details to better supply chain effectiveness.
Scalability makes your life easier
Scale up as your business grows, scale down to save costs if there happens an unexpected slump.
Next up, inventory management system ensures quality assurance. Whether the goods are durable, non-durable or perishable, quality assurance is of prime importance. Only the procedures vary. With inventory management software, managers can keep a track of various issues through advanced analytics solutions.
Another important benefit is warehouse organization. When you know which products are the bestsellers or which are the top combinations, you can set up such baskets of products accordingly, thus optimizing warehouse management. This helps easy and speedy picking, packing and shipping.
A huge advantage that inventory management provides is scalability. As businesses grow, software would need to grow proportionately. With an advanced inventory management system in place, you can capture business growth without too much additional infrastructure or costs. Modern inventory management systems are cloud-based. They are agile to grow with your business as it grows. It is easy to scale down and reduce costs, in case there is a slump for any unexpected reasons. Thus these systems allow you immense scalability and sustainability.
These are some of the unsurpassed benefits that an inventory management system gives your business. Choose the right vendor who can help your business grow to newer heights with the right inventory management system. They will give you solutions suited to your changing business needs.