In the current market scenario, where there is fierce competition between companies, one of the secrets to sustain is to have satisfied customers. Satisfying customers is one of the most complicated things; however, one way to please them is to deliver the products they want and on time. And, for this, it is important that you have the stock of products with which you trade and know what you have in stock and what you do not. If you’re not aware of the stock in your warehouse, you could end up losing customers and money on a sale that was meant to happen or spending a lot of money building up excess inventory. This is where inventory management comes into play.
Inventory management is a process that helps in tracking and managing stored goods. It helps companies manage the constant flow of goods and avoid over-flowing goods or slowing them down to levels that could create a problem for the business. Therefore, making inventory management crucial not only for retail stores (both online and offline), but also for all businesses that need to keep stock of products, be it raw material or finished goods.
Most businesses start managing their inventory in spreadsheets, making it difficult for them to keep track of stock, shipping, and delivery of products, etc. Also, errors when feeding data into these sheets are one of the most common things that happen when manually managing inventory. Furthermore, it is not only time-consuming, it also requires a lot of additional resources, which will eventually take you away from focusing on the core business, leaving aside your goal of getting more and more satisfied customers.
Automation is the way out. Implementing a good and solid inventory control system software will help you not only organize your warehouse and reduce maintenance costs, but it will also help you save time, reduce operating costs and increase efficiency. But, with a plethora of inventory system solutions
available in the market, choosing the best inventory management software can be tricky. To make it easier for you, here is a list of things that a good inventory management software should have:
- inventory trackingNote: When choosing the best inventory management software, make sure that the software comes with the inventory tracking feature. It is one of the main functions of such software. This feature will not only allow you to keep track of the stock in your warehouse, but it will also keep you updated on the products received and the number of shipments made.
- Warehouse management: If you have warehouses located in different locations, it is not possible to manage them manually. When choosing a software, you need to make sure that it comes with the warehouse management feature. This feature allows you to track stock level, manage transfer between warehouses, and generate reports for each warehouse, regardless of its location.
- Price: Price is one of the most important things to consider when purchasing software. There are a number of different inventory management software available in the market ranging from Rs. 1800-Rs. 2000 which can go up to Rs. 2 lakh, depending on the functionalities they offer. You can choose a software based on your business needs.
- Reports and analysis: A good inventory management solution comes with reporting and analytics features. Analytics is an essential feature because it provides an overview of the warehouse as well as the available stock, allowing you to make better business decisions. Similarly, the reports let you know the supply and demand for a particular product and determine the inventory requirement.
- Data import and export: Most of you might be using spreadsheets or a free online tool to manage inventory. However, if you plan to implement a robust system to manage inventory, make sure the software you choose comes with data import and export functionality. This will allow you to import or export data that you have been keeping. Also, the software must be able to store the data in the same format that it has been maintaining.
The list can go on and on as each software comes with some additional features. However, here are some of the most important things to consider when choosing the best inventory management software.
