Best Inventory Tools That Help in Inventory Control

Inventory management plays an important role in the success of the organization. A lot of organizations take inventory very lightly but they do not know how important inventory for business growth. Many businesses suffer from loss due to mismanagement of inventory. Controlling inventory is very important to avoid wastage of inventory. In this blog, you will discover the best inventory tools that help control inventory! But first, let us cover the basics!

What Is the Inventory? What Is Inventory Management?

Inventory can be raw material, finished products, or MRO (Maintenance repair operation). Inventory management is the process of managing inventory in the right place at the right time in the right quantity. One of the benefits of inventory management is to increase productivity and decrease unnecessary expenses.

Also Read: How Inventory Management Helps Manufacturers in Managing Inventory?

What Are the Best Inventory Tools That Help Control Inventory?

Below we have discussed the best inventory tools that help control inventory:

1. Set Reorder Level

Lots of organizations suffer from loss because either they have too much or too little stock. When an organization will not have enough stock to sell then how will an organization generate income! Furthermore, they will start losing customers as well. Thus, managing inventory at the right level is tricky!

One of the most efficient tools for effective inventory management is setting reorder level. With this tool, you can manage inventory easily it means you do not have to worry about inventory anymore.

2. Alert and Notification

You can set a specific quantity for inventory whenever the inventory goes below that defined level it will alert the team and they will order stock and the refilling process begins. You can set a re-order limit for each product your organization has. This feature is a magic tool for the retail, manufacturing, logistics industry.

According to the Business Wire,  “Retailers worldwide lose a staggering $1.75 Trillion annually due to the cost of overstocks, out-of-stocks, and needless returns, according to new research released today from retail analyst firm IHL Group, commissioned by Order Dynamics.”

3. Reports

Reports help get knowledge related to purchasing, sales, inventory. For growing business or to improve daily productivity report can provide deep analytics. It can also provide which is your best-selling product which product is not doing good. Reports help track trends and according to that, your team can make a plan for business growth.

Also Read: 5 Detailed Reports Expected from Asset Management Software

However, one thing that needs to be assured to grow the business is maintaining accuracy, if accuracy is compromised then data will be no good and every action you take on the behalf of these reports will not be effective.

Thus, automated software shall be used and as a result, you will get accurate automated reports. Furthermore, you can get customized reports as well as per your requirements. These reports are critical in setting future goals and good informative business decisions.

4. Integration

Integration can be done with other software or in this case inventory management software. This tool comes in handy when you have some specific requirement and it enhances the process plus makes it more efficient. When two technologies are merged then we can expect something phenomenal, right? Some organizations merge with the front-end application, some organizations merge them with CRM (customer relationship management) for increasing customer satisfaction.

5. ABC Analysis

When inventory is critical for your business. You must categorize them in the right way. ABC Analysis assists your business by letting you know which assets are crucial and which are less crucial. According to this analysis, 20 percent of the item represents 80 percent of the total value. This is also known as the  “Pareto Rule”. Sometimes it is hectic to figure out those items with this software you can easily find.

6. Inventory Tracking

Inventory tracking is important for all businesses. As it helps know how much inventory you have left when it needs to be refilled. Inventory tracking saves your time especially when you have huge warehouses because sometimes it is typical to find where exactly specific inventory is kept.

Furthermore, inventory tracking is also helpful in avoiding inventory theft. Theft has been always an issue in all sectors. With this software, you can keep your inventory secured and avoid theft easily.

Conclusion

Inventory management is important for the process of inventory control as it can create an impact on the bottom line. To avoid those scenarios above tools can be utilized, they can be helpful in not only controlling inventory but they can also help in business growth.

Inventory or asset management software provides several benefits to the business indirectly as employees do not have to waste time looking for inventory so this software increases productivity. It also helps in making crucial decisions related to business.

For more accuracy organization uses barcode, QR Code technology for inventory tracking. This tracking technology can provide real-time location of inventory.

Also Read: 5 Things to Consider When Doing Spare Parts Inventory Management

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Why inventory theft is a big issue?‍

According to Statista,  “the share of retail inventory shrinkage in the United States from 2015 to 2018, by source. In 2018, 35.7 percent of retail inventory shrinkage was caused by shoplifting/external issues, whereas 5.8 percent was as a result of vendor fraud or error.” To avoid these types of scenarios inventory management software is required.

2. Why managing inventory is important?‍

Managing inventory is important because it can help in:
1. Avoiding deadstock
2. Avoiding spoilage
3. Saving expenses
4. Saving storage expenses

3. What is the biggest issue an organization faces related to inventory?‍

Overstock and out of stock are the main issues because in both situations business suffers from loss. In overstock, you spend too much money on purchasing stock, and out of stock, you lose customers. In both scenarios, the bottom line takes a hit. However, with effective inventory management software, you can easily avoid these scenarios.