7 Best Tools That Will Make Your Inventory Management More Efficient

Inventory management in any organization plays a vital role in its long term success. Having inventory in excess is as big a problem as not having enough inventory when needed. Therefore a good inventory management software in place can help you manage your inventory by providing a wide range of features and tools. Here are a few essential tools that can help you achieve your inventory efficiently.

1.Barcode Data collection

Perpetual type inventory management systems highly depend on timely and accurate updates of the stock. Using manual inventory reporting can cause delays, errors, missed timelines, and unnecessary burdens on your workforce. Therefore, by using automated data collection the barcode scans removes much manual reporting burden thereby dramatically improves your accuracy and efficiency.

2.Dashboards

The inventory management tool dashboard has the on-screen visual display of information. All the data about different activities that take place in the warehouse are pulled and displayed on the panel.

Depending on the user and the industry, that is in the dashboard, can be used in a variety of different ways to display a wide range of essential information. For instance, a small business owner can track information such as total monthly sales, inventory levels in the warehouse, most ordered products, etc. At the same time, a manager can use the dashboard to view each product's current inventory level in the warehouse, orders that are scheduled to be shipped, etc.

With the dashboard feature, you can save time and effort as it allows you to glance at some of your most important information from one place.

3.Cycle counting

To correctly plan and control your inventory accuracy is essential, but most inventory management systems available out there are inaccurate without an active and disciplined cycle counting in place.

Cycle counting replaces the tiresome and error-prone periodic physical inventory count where your workforce counts the most essential items most often than the less important ones. While it also provides an automated way to eliminate all sources of error and improve overall accuracy in a very sustainable and efficient way.

4.ABC analysis

ABC analysis is used to set up cycle counting to identify the more critical and less critical items mentioned above.

Pareto analysis is the most common analysis method; it ranks all the inventory items according to each item's total value on an annual basis (either annual usage or the total times’ product is sold). Here typically, the top 20% of items represent 80% revenue. The next 30% of items account for the remaining 15% of the value, and the last 50% of the C items represent the total five percent of annual profit.

5.Integrated planning and execution

The primary goal of an ERP system is to serve the customers better by optimizing the resources, and that includes the inventory.

The inventory system provides all the critical information for planning and execution. In contrast, the ERP system returns the favor by managing the features where inventory systems fall short, and thus this reduces the overall investment for inventory management.

6.System Integration

Inventory management software should be able to integrate with other business management tools. This includes accounting software, CRM tools, website platforms, and many more. With such integration, it becomes easier for business owners to keep a clear track of all the channels and locations. Then the inventory can be examined by site, product, warehouse, etc. This gives you better insights and information to make accurate inventory decisions.

7.Lot tracking and traceability

Lot tracking or traceability helps you determine which of your customers received which specific groups of items and the time when they received it. The supplier you purchased the item from and the date when you ordered will also be recorded, allowing you to track the group of products from your supplier and then at the end to your customer.

The lot tracking feature is a core component of good inventory management software. It allows the ability to track how your inventory is moving and keep a record of it.