Why Digitize Inventory Management: 10 Benefits
Inventory holds the highest importance in the value chain. Choosing the right approach for inventory management could help businesses identify opportunities that could make them more profitable. An accurate inventory count improves physical storage space utilization and increases sales as the right stock is always available at the right time to fulfil orders.
An inventory management software streamlines and automates warehouse processes. It tracks and identifies customer buying trends to proactively prepare the product lists to meet stocking needs. The digital transformation eliminates any information discrepancy that could lead to uncertainties in operations. Integrated FID asset tracking devices help gathers an enormous amount of data that could be analyzed to get insights to improve demand forecasting. The system also supports the flow of accurate information to positively impact the overall business efficiency.
Contact us at solutions@sharpbrains.co.uk to book a demo or for more information.
10 Benefits of Digitizing Your Inventory Management?
Manual inventory management brings risks of human errors leading to problems like wastages due to overstocking or losing sales due to inventory stock-out. Another potential problem is failing to identify and correct issues on time, resulting in low productivity, less accurate fulfilment, more returns and shipping difficulties, and disappointed customers. Digitizing inventory management could solve these all.
Using a software could bring your business a host of benefits, including:
1- Automated stock management
Automation is the most significant benefit of digitizing your inventory management. From order reception to preparation and shipping, the system automates inventory management and other repetitive tasks. Inventory tracking is done in real-time using digital tools, which limits counting errors, saves endless hours, ensures effective resource utilization, and allows better analysis of discrepancies.
Digital inventory management eliminates blind spots, improves communication, and provides real-time visibility on your inventory levels, offering insight into exact details on the availability of any given product at any point in time. It also automatically updates your stock count whenever a sale is made.
Thus, automating inventory management could deliver greater operational efficiency and better customer experiences.
2- Real-time data access from anywhere
A web-based online inventory management solution helps you access data recorded from multiple sources. It includes real-time analytics and other advanced tools that enable you to act immediately to seize opportunities and prevent issues before they happen.
When order volumes are substantially higher during the peak season and holidays, this system allows you to access real-time data on any device and manage inventory simultaneously from within your warehouse premises and other sites. Thus, it helps you understand the sales patterns, make required adjustments in stock levels, and keep up with the customer demands irrespective of your location.
3- Prevent stock outs due to overselling
When you do not have appropriate control over your inventory, you could quickly run out of products, leading to stock-outs. This could make your customers wait, causing significant damage to their satisfaction level. They could cancel the order and even refrain from purchasing from you in the future.
When you lose a customer, it has a significant impact on the overall business. Not only would it reduce your sales, but also result in the wasted marketing budget and customer acquisition costs. An inventory management system tracks stock movement and manages orders across your sales channels. It also lets you set a standard level for stock so that you are always aware of when to replenish it.
4- Reduce business operating costs
In a manually managed inventory, the investment in paperwork is actually huge. An ERP inventory management software reduces these recurring costs by eliminating this obsolete method. The system lets you obtain precise forecasts on stock movements by analyzing your past activity and helps you attain more accurate ordering and spending. You would be able to know what products to stock, thus avoiding costly disruptions by limiting the waste linked to too much stock or financial losses linked to under stock that could cause you to miss sales.
5- Better inventory planning for more precise orders
One of the critical advantages of digitizing inventory management is that the system integrates all your sales channels, shipping, and third-party logistics providers, enabling you to access accurate, real-time information across your business.
Accurate inventory count is the most important criterion for planning more precise orders. A proper inventory management system would empower you to make better inventory planning decisions so that you could select products based on their selling capacity and limit your holding on unsold stock or stock in the wrong locations.
6- Improving supply chain operations
Unexpected challenges are normal, but with an inventory management system, you have better control over your supply chain and effectively establish diversification strategy. Having more vendors reduces the risk of long wait times for products when one of the suppliers cannot deliver on time. Therefore, when you have a demand surge in peak season and other specific periods, you would be well prepared to stock up the right amount of goods and mitigate the stock-out issues.
7- Selling across multiple channels is easier.
Selling through a new channel or market is simpler with a digital inventory management system. It stores data in one central database, which helps you get visibility into your inventory sold in multiple locations and control over selling stock in the various marketplaces at once.
8- Enable advanced inventory management techniques
The inventory management system includes tools that let you choose from various advanced inventory management techniques, including First in First Out, First Expired First Out, Just in Time, ABC Analysis, etc., that suit your business set up and focuses on driving growth.
9- Avoid expired products in stock.
Selling products at discounted prices because they are nearing the expiry date could bring you loss. Robust inventory management software could help you avoid this. The system enables you to identify old-dated or expiring items and run reports to identify goods that would expire soon. This would help you promote them adequately and get them out of the entryway before you are compelled to write them off.
10- Increased employee efficiency
Digitized inventory management tools allow you to plan, schedule, and take control over all of the activities in your warehouse. It streamlines processes while optimizing workflows, saving ample employee time and money spent optimizing your warehouse operations.
With inventory management software, your operations become faster and more reliable. You will always be able to fulfil your orders faster with no stock outs. Thus, it helps you satisfy buyers and gain more loyal customers.
Why Implement Our Inventory Management Software?
Focus 9 is one of the best cloud-based ERP software, offering a wide range of industry-specific business management solutions. Our inventory management software includes a simple yet powerful set of tools that track inventory movements, improve warehouse space utilization, increase labor productivity, provide more visibility, and speed-up order processing.
Contact us at solutions@sharpbrains.co.uk to book a demo or for more information.
