Inventory is arguably an ample asset to any company, it’s the entities, work-in-progress goods and final product that a company sells to yield revenue. Without inventory going out, there is no capital getting in. As it is said a place for everything and everything in its place, this phrase quite helps in defining inventory management in terms of business – it means the right stock, in the right place, at the right time, at the right level, and the right cost. It’s a systematic process to sourcing, storing, and retailing inventory.
Whether you have a brick and mortar store, a supermarket or an eCommerce site, keeping the track of your inventory is equally important as running an efficient and profitable business that’s why an inventory system is a must-have. The tool gives an insight into every facet of your stock and sometimes helps in better understanding your customers. Thus, inventory management software has become an essential tool for all kinds of business owners.
What is inventory management software?
An inventory management system is a procedure through which you can track your products throughout the entire supply chain, beginning from purchasing to production to end sales and deliveries.
The management software consists of an application that traces, manages and organizes the end product sale and further production processes. It can also be employed in the manufacturing industry to create a work order, bill of materials and other production-related records. Companies use this software to deter product surplus and outages, the system tells the number of components or ingredients required to create the final product.
Features of the management software
The software offers some amazing and essential features for effective inventory management operation. Choose the software which offers all the features of your need. Here is an outline of what to peep for.
Stock notifications
This feature enables you to comprehend what is under-stock and what is over by sending alerts and notification when it reaches a specific threshold. Which ultimately helps in managing your order if the product is going out of stock or offering a discount to clear overstock.
Inventory optimization
It upholds the right fraction of inventory for each product, curtailing the stress of over or under stocking any product.
Investment record
The feature allows you to easily observe which product has a high demand, both permanently and seasonally, and you always keep up with the stock to fulfil your consumer’s needs.
Stock returns
this enables to manage returns effectively by cutting off the time to return through the automation of the whole operation.
Barcode scanning
It’s a physical device used to check-in and check-out stock items – suppose a product is in a warehouse it can be tracked through its barcode or serial number. The software incorporates a barcode scanner for instant product identification and tagging.
Bundle
This group inventory into predefined items confirm your current status of that product’s quantities of components and specifications that make up your product stock. Besides the group the products that are sold as a single item.
Companies often use inventory management system software to cut off their accumulating costs. The basic use of the software is to track products and groups as they are transported from a dealer to warehouse and finally to retailer or buyer.
Some of its common uses are-
- Maintaining the ratio between too much and too less product.
- Tracking the inventory throughout the process.
- Keeping track of products sale and level
- Preventing missing out on deals due to low stock inventory.
- Receiving stocks into the scheduled locations.