Inventory Management Software

Proper warehouse management involves the monitoring of raw materials and finished goods in and out of a finished goods warehouse or a series of them. It is impossible to imagine how some of these very large storage facilities ever succeeded in keeping track of their varied inventories that were both very fast moving and complex to keep track of without the aid of a very efficient computerized warehouse distribution software program. The question we must ask is; did these large scale handling depots only become feasible once there were software programs available to manage them efficiently or were they always there?

Take into account all that is involved in controlling a physical warehouse infrastructure, its tracking systems, and the never ending communication between the various stations along the way. Warehouse distribution management has to deal with receiving, storing and distribution of finished goods.

Functions that need to be handled include handling a warehouse master record, cross-reference lists and the many other functions that a computerized warehouse facility is obliged to maintain.

Warehouse management requires the overseeing and recording of several crucial functions in the modern computerized warehouse. These functions include deliveries and pickups of finished goods, maintaining accurate inventory records, an up-to-date inventory tracking system, mapping out space in the warehouse to handle bulk incoming stock, making sure that all stock is being rotated in a last in first out basis.

It would take an exceptionally talented and dynamic individual to handle all these multi-faceted tasks. There is no shortage of them in the industry, but the really smart ones have long since realized that the tasks involved require the back up of a really efficient warehouse distribution software system. This software has become the most important component that go to make up a totally efficient and effective storage and distribution management system, Beginning as a simple control movement and storage of materials system, today’s warehouse distribution software system can even incorporate tasks such as light manufacturing, transportation management, order management, and entire accounting systems.

Increasing the company’s efficiency in warehousing and distribution are vital in today’s fast paced world of business. Suppliers are much happier and more comfortable dealing with companies who appear to be totally on top of their inventory control. These are the people that they are happy to supply. They know that behind the scenes is a professional warehouse manager with whom they can liaise regarding distribution of stock orders according to depots and whose warehouse staff are totally aware of expected goods deliveries and are prepared accordingly.

There is nothing more annoying for manufacturers to have a truck tied up for hours on end waiting to unload. The time the truck is kept waiting is knocking a fairly major hole in their profits, and will not be forgotten the next time the two parties sit down to negotiate a new price structure.

There are many people, who if they were still alive today, would personally want to wash the feet of the person or persons who invented or developed inventory management software. Before this major development came on the scene some ten years ago, stocktaking was the nightmare of every company, and probably sent many a company manager and his stock control assistants to their early graves.

Today’s inventory management software has made life a better place for stock control clerks, apart from making most of them redundant! Nowadays even the largest corporations operate tailor made software that allows them total control of all their inventory management.

At least on paper, the system is totally accurate and provides the company’s management of their stock position in real time.

In pre-software days this was almost impossible to ascertain without organizing a physical stock taking that could mean closing down the company’s operation for sometimes days at a time. In an ideal world, companies should never have to take a physical stock again. However it is worth doing at least twice a year to ensure that there is no pilferage, or shrinkage as it is now known, going on within the company.

By establishing and maintaining a database of the company’s inventory that contains totally up-to-date information of the company’s entire stock range, which can even be spread out over several depots, today’s computer orientated companies can be totally updated on all stock movements, either inwards or outwards. In addition many of the software systems currently available can be programmed to correlate all sales of a particular product over a specific time frame, for the company’s records. Not only that, the program can be further tweaked to place stock orders on items that have been solved inorder to maintain a constant and updated stock level.

All these procedures go towards increasing the company’s efficiency. Efficiency in stock handling is vital in today’s fast paced world of business. Suppliers are much happier and more comfortable dealing with companies who are on top of their inventory control, with whom they can liaise regarding distribution of stock orders according to depots and whose warehouse staff are totally aware of expected goods deliveries and are prepared accordingly.

On the other side of the coin, customer’s will enjoy and appreciate working with a company who are so much on the ball. After all, their stock supply is the lifeline of the their business, and irrespective of whether they are dealing with a manufacturer, a wholesaler or a distributor, they need to know that their merchandise will be arriving when they ordered it as well as the color and quantity that they ordered it in.

Inventory tracking software are programs designed specifically to assist large and small businesses to keep a constant track on their inventories.

Companies involved in the handling of raw materials, finished products, spare parts, or consumables have found inventory tracking software to be an invaluable tool, a virtual right hand man when it gets down to checking the many facets of controlling inventory that modern companies need to have securely buttoned down in order to preserve their credibility in today’s fast paced business world.

Following the path as products are received, stored, inventoried, picked, packed, and shipped, a comprehensive inventory management system will implement all these procedures and ensure that all relevant data is collected and formulated along every step of the storage and distribution process.

A major step forward in inventory tracking has been the increased use and accessibility of bar coding. Each item can have its own identity and can be traced in seconds through this highly efficient system.

Serious companies have long since realized that efficient inventory management and control is an important aspect of their business, which should be regarded with the utmost of seriousness. A company may have the best of products but if they constantly arrive late or to the wrong depot in the right color, or to the right depot but in the wrong color, then it won’t be too long before your customer will disappear into the darkness, in their search for a new supplier.

Inventory tracking software is a part of a management system whose function is to maintain stock levels effectively. A tool that helps in inventory tracking and controlling stock levels, the software can also be processed to deal with other sales tracking functions. These include order entry, invoice generation, preparing purchase orders against outgoing stock records, and handling bulk distribution logistics.

Designed with a user friendly interface, some of the more advanced software has been programmed to determine when a specific stock item has fallen below a pre-determined stock figure and will even raise a purchase order to the supplier to replace the inventory.

Regarding inventory tracking as an important function is an important breakthrough for most companies. The investment that they will need to make in true terms is really minimal and will justify itself in the short term. In the long term the company will only go from strength to strength. The warehouse manager and his staff will be happy and contented in their work, and will regard themselves as the true professionals that they have obviously become. Thanks to their “little brother”, working quietly and efficiently away in the corner. Tracking, constantly tracking.

Manufacturers and distributors handle stock. They have no option but to warehouse and distribute it. This is a hard fact and they have to live with. This has been the mode for more than a century and keeping track of the inventory was the biggest bane of companies whose businesses were based on this type of operation. However in recent years their load has been made appreciably lighter with the introduction of software that can provide state of the art solutions to almost every problem that the warehouse staff is liable to encounter when managing the flow of inventory to their ultimate destinations.

Warehouse staff have to be able to absorb changes in their daily work patterns that are sometimes totally out of their control. Some times the company buyer will hit upon a surplus of stock at a national manufacturer and snap it up at a bargain price. This stock has to be absorbed in the warehouse within two to three working days notice, so the warehouse staff will have to work, sometimes around the clock, to fit it in.

Maybe the sales force has hit a bit of a slack period usually seasonal. The purchasing people decide that they don’t want to cancel any stock orders at least for the time being, once again the warehouse wall begin to bulge outwards. Suddenly the sales force hit a great run of sales, and all the customers need their orders tomorrow. Again the warehouse manager has to pull out all the stops to deliver all the outstanding orders in next to no time. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No, not with the aid of inventory software that tells the warehouse manager exactly how much stock he has of each particular item. He can use this software to compare inventory positions against firm orders, and where it is stored in the warehouse. From this point the nest stage is to arrange sufficient transport, and the warehouse wall will bulge no more. At least till the next time.

Probably one of the most important management functions of any company is the ability to keep track of inventory and inventory movement. Holding unnecessary or dead stock can cripple any company’s cash flow and force them to severely reduce prices to clear stocks. This is a dangerous habit and if repeated too many times will cause the company’s customers to begin to withhold full price orders till the next time that company carries out a forced stock clearance. Once a company enters into this viscous circle it begins to plummet downwards to an unpleasant demise. This is another reason why by purchasing and running an efficient stock control system, companies can establish the minimum and maximum inventory levels that they need to maintain to keep there business flowing.

The majority of people who take the calculated risk of establishing a new business are dynamic by nature. Statistics show that very few of them have any form of accountancy background, and therefore are not fully versed on the significance of proper inventory control and what it can mean to the efficiency of their business and ultimately its survival. Inefficient inventory control can get up and bite at the legs of a new business when least expected. There have been so many case of employees finding that there is no proper control of inventory going on, so that set up their own system. By taking the inventory home with them. A little bit every day!

This is why it is absolutely vital for the small business to get of both inventory and sales with some small business inventory control software. Ideally the business should be established with the software already in place and the owner can have the total control of inventory transactions, from placing and receiving orders to recording sales to your customers that this software provides.

Instead of being in the dark, the budding entrepreneur will be able to generate reports and inventory statistics that are being constantly updated. Any shrinkage will become apparent immediately, and the desire or temptation to take advantage will be removed entirely.

Businesses that along the way discover the necessity to install an inventory management software system can always do so. The pressures of stopping the carousel in order to do so preclude many small businesses from doing so, and it usually works out to be a costly decision for them. These systems are usually inexpensive, simple to absorb into an existing accounting software system. Staff who are basically comfortable in a computerized environment will take little or no time to get used to the system. Any profits lost by the two or three days that the business might have to close to implement and learn their new software, will be made up for many times over by increased efficiency and enlightened customer service, and increased turnovers and profits that the new software will help to generate.

There are many small business owners who became big business owners. They may never know how close they came to going under before they introduced inventory management software into their business. They will usually admit that by doing so, only then did their business begin to make progress. Having the heart and the vision to see an opportunity and take it are rare personality traits. Having the ability to realize that you are not capable of doing everything may even be a greater one!

The ability to keep track of inventory and inventory movement is probably one of the most important management functions of any company. Holding unnecessary stock can cripple any company and by purchasing and running an efficient stock control system, companies can establish the minimum and maximum inventory levels that they need to maintain to keep there business flowing.

The majority of manufacturers store their finished goods in . The levels of stock should be more than two to three days of production. Any more than that, then something are wrong with the system, unless, for some reason, the company is temporarily manufacturing for stock.

This can be because sales are low, and the company has decided to manufacture some standard range items, to keep the factory production from slowing down. This can be a wise move, as the cost of cutting down on production can be high, and in the long term the company knows that they will sell these products anyway.

However if the company is manufacturing against orders and demand is high there is no reason that the company’s warehouses should act as a way station for distribution. This where inventory software comes into its own. Manufacturers and/or distributors need to be able to define exactly how much storage space they require to handle continuous output all year round, including the ability to hold a few days extra stock if need be.

Products that are manufactured from raw materials form a long and interesting path from when they enter into the production facility as raw materials through the goods received entrance till they exit through the goods out entrance. Every step of the way they are being warehoused in some form, even when the parts are going through the manufacturing process. Therefore the inventory proceeds have to run through inventory process tracking both the component parts till the finished goods stage. This is a complicated process and where the inventory software has to report on the input of the raw materials against finished goods on a unit basis. Any other method and the company will lose track completely of where there raw materials are being used up. Therefore the manufacturing facility has to raise an order per unit for each consistent raw material part that goes into the production. When the unit is completed it is passed on the distribution center as a unit, and transferred to them as such.

Since the task of inventory software is to basically offset the costs of holding inventory levels, then the function of the software is to allow company management to ascertain exactly how much this function is costing the company, and what benefits are being gained by it.

Every business, whether involved in manufacturing, distribution, wholesaling or retailing and to an extent the service industries, are all part of the supply chain. If the chain breaks then supplies will dry up and potential profits will be lost, never to return.

This is why businesses are almost paranoid about maintaining stock levels and are prepared to invest both time and money in procurement software, to ensure that their factory or retail outlet will never be without the stock that they need to feed their customers.

Procurement software has been around for a long time, but only fairly recently did the smaller to medium sized companies begin to realize its importance and why it would be such a serious and worthwhile investment for their business.

So how does procurement software help a business to manage their stock replacement?

Imagine you were purchasing officer for a nationwide chain of furniture outlets. Your CEO and your financial management will not be slow in telling you that every square meter of retail floor space costs a lot of money to operate and needs to see a strong return in investment to justify all the pre-determined cost; sales staff, advertising costs, store upkeep etc.

Maybe twice of three times a year the purchasing team goes out to pick a new range for their stores. They only choose manufacturers who they known have sufficient manufacturing capability to meet the anticipated demands of their stores, and choose models accordingly. The purchasing officer might even back his judgement by placing some stock orders, but will generally trust the supplier’s management to reserve his company with a share of their manufacturing capability each week or month.

When the model hits the sales floor and sales are as anticipated, the retail outlets’ procurement software will automatically place and order for each item as it is sold. Not only will that it specify to the supplier/manufacturer to which depot to deliver, delivery time expected and any other relevant information.

Further down the supply chain, the furniture manufacturer will anticipate demand for their products not only from our friends in the retail furniture chain, but from a few others depending on the size of his manufacturing capacity. They will then place a series of programmed stock orders to meet anticipated demands. As the stock levels dwindle, the procurement software will receive a message to order specific components to meet demand in the near future, ensuring that the manufacturer is never short of any raw materials, and will be able to continue to produce.

This is how procurement software works in the supply chain and has made the whole process so much more streamlined that it was before it came on the scene.

To keep track of the resources of the company in an easier way, owners ask employees who are in charge of the inventory of company resources to use inventory management software. This keeps the inventory updated and accurate.  Plus, with just one click (or maybe even two) the numbers are all out on the screen, the numbers and items that you are looking for are out there for you to see.

Inventory is no longer an impossible task. One no longer needs to have 5 people to do the inventory but only just one to maintain and keep the database updated.

There were times when employees even rendered overtime just to finish the inventory of  supplies of the company. So  manpower expenses are kept to a minimum.

We cannot live in the olden times when the 21st century has presented us with systems that will make life a little easier on all of us.  With the software, everybody is kept on their toes and nobody will take advantage of the company. Even  the last ream of the bond paper will be accounted for, all broken pcs will be disposed of properly. Every little bit and piece of company property will still be company property and will not be brought home by the employees because they know that the inventory system is updated due to the inventory management software.

Barcode systems first saw the light of day in the large supermarket chains of the late nineteen seventies. Once an expensive and not particularly user friendly software tool, in the last decade or so, barcode inventory systems have become within the financial reach of even the smallest family store and the increased efficiency that it provides has made it a “must purchase”.

Once of the province of the cash register, any retail store can provide that comfortable feeling of quickly passing the scanner over the customer’s purchases, providing a comfortable and certainly less noisy shopping experience that today’s point of sale (POS) barcode inventory scanners provide.

By allowing the cashier to scan the product POS barcode scanners allows such important information as product category and inventory code, pricing etc to be digitally recorded. The barcode scanning process flows along very smoothly and speedily, and the customer leaves the store impressed with the efficiency of the operation and the friendly and smiling staff.

Why are they smiling you ask yourself? Because they just spent all of yesterday, applying barcode tags to every item in stock. And once every item has had a barcode generated for it, only when replacement inventory is delivered, before it can be put out for sale from the storerooms, it only needs to be tagged with its own barcode. No new codes need to be generated.

Every barcode has its own meaning or translation, and the barcode inventory software can provide with the store owner details of a paper inventory position at the press of a computer key. In addition if the owner wants to have details of sales or purchases over a certain period, then this information is also readily available.

The barcode system has seen the end of that great institution – the cash register. No longer does the cashier have to total up a long list of purchases, one after the other, hoping that none have been missed out, or that the cash total button hasn’t jammed again. With barcode scanners, increasingly laser based, the cashier simply passes the scanner over the barcode, and the item is registered on the mini-computer. After all the purchases have been registered, then the total purchase button is pressed, and the sale is completed, usually by credit card.

The ease of operation that a barcode inventory system has brought to even the smallest of retail operation serves as further proof as to how the digital age has improved the quality of life for all of us, even the local corner store owner.

The most important function of inventory management is implementing the processes of planning, designing, and implementing advanced inventory systems. These systems’ roles in company management are to control the efficiency of the assets owned and managed by an organization.

Once a long and tedious process, initially carried out with pen and ink, and latterly by typewriter, since the onset of the digital age, accountancy and inventory control has become as streamlined as possible through the use of inventory control and accountancy software that is now readily available through the internet.

The level of management control that this software allows can run through an entire company. Radical management software known as ERP enterprise resource planning is designed and programmed to manage every aspect of a company and its infrastructure. This can include its plant, property, raw materials, finished goods, manufacturing equipment, company cars and trucks, office equipment and the current state of the company’s bank account as well as its purchase and sales ledgers. At any moment in time, the software can provide an almost 100% accurate statement of the company’s overall financial position and its Nett worth. Who would have believed this possible, even five years ago?

However, the need for profits and increased efficiency are the catalysts that drive companies on. As business becomes more complex and difficult to control, the labor costs in the administrative branches has become a considerable cost factor. The gradual introduction of labor-light inventory and accountancy software has seen companies gradually reduce their staff, usually by offering early retirement. The cost savings that have been made by integrating accountancy and inventory management software can only be described as remarkable.

There are so many accounting software available online that even the most modest of companies have long since realized that it is bordering on the realms of bad management not to acquire one. However before making the choice of which software to invest in, the company’s financial officers should liaise with their accountants and take advice in which program would particularly fit their particular type of organisation.

Once the choice has been made and the program installed, the company’s financial staff will need some training in how to best work with the program and how to get the maximum from it. Even the simplest and least expensive program will come fully equipped with its own set up guide to ensure that it is successfully installed.

There is nothing that accounting and inventory software cannot be programmed to handle, all the way from the company payroll to the stock inventory. Software never sleeps and is unlikely to ever ask for a pay rise or demand maternity leave. At least, not the current generation of software!