How Much Do You Know About Inventory Management Systems?

Have you had a chance to analyze several inventory management systems in your time, or have you never worked with any computerized systems for inventory control? How much do you really know about how inventory management systems work? While you may think you know a lot about their uses and how they may fit your needs, you could be way behind on the current technology as well. Let’s take a quick look at the many things an inventory management system can do for you.

Database Storage

Basically, most inventory management systems are built off database technology. The number one function of a database is storage of information, and this is one of the most important aspects of inventory management. You need a place to log every piece of merchandise within your inventory where you can access it again easily.

Accessing Information

An inventory management system database will also allow you to access the stored information with a few clicks of the mouse. In fact, the information will be searchable by various avenues determined by the creator of the database. For example, if your inventory consists of perfumes and colognes, you can search by manufacturer, name of the perfume, whether it is for men or women, and cost. You can even include a “field”, or search topic, for the UPC code or other identification number.

Indexing the Information

Today, advanced inventory management systems enable you to view and print various reports, including the net value of all items in stock, a list of the most recently sold items, lists of items that are low in stock, merchandise that hasn’t sold at all in a certain period of time, and, if you have perishables, items that have reached or exceeded the expiration date. This and much more can be reported to you so that you can adjust your inventory as necessary to better serve your customers, as well as to increase your profit margins.

Ordering

Some inventory management systems will assist you in creating order lists of the most commonly ordered items so that you have a quick reference and can complete the order process faster and more efficiently. In some cases, you can actually use the system itself to compile the order and forward it via email to your supply house so that you don’t have to worry about human error on your part in recording the correct item numbers.

Labeling

If you wish to create your own internal labeling system for your inventory for purpose of product identification, which is always a good idea for shelving and storage accessibility, you can utilize your inventory management software to create proprietary product numbers for the items you stock and to create and print barcodes and labels for those items, allowing you to quickly mark and stock each piece of merchandise quickly and proficiently. Using the complex barcodes will also allow the scanning of items so that there is never human error caused by inputting incorrect information or fumbling with a keyboard.

Using Inventory Asset Management Software For Cleaner Results

Inventory affects your net worth and therefore is important in the listing of your assets for tax purposes. In order to better manage this, you should look into inventory asset management software. These programs allow you to electronically measure the value of your inventory based on several factors, to adjust it as needed, and to include it in your divulged assets for tax purposes. Because it is electronic and not hand written, the results are much cleaner.

Start by migrating your entire stock list into your inventory asset management software so that you can begin to analyze the material. This will allow you to see the exact quantities and costs of each and every item in your warehouse electronically.

Adjust the value based on your intentions. You can either list the cost of the item, or you can enter the retail value for which you can sell it, giving it a higher net worth. Depending on how you do your bookkeeping in other areas of the business, you can choose how you will configure the actual value of these assets.

Next, you can choose to devaluate the items based on age. If some of your inventory has been around for quite some time, the value may have depreciated, much like other assets. Especially if you have inventory of computers or other electronic devices, you should consider this option. Such materials are constantly being upgraded and replaced, meaning that any models that aren’t current are most likely of less value than when they were purchased. The inventory asset management software then gives you an adjusted net worth based on the depreciation percentage that you enter.

Now, the only thing you will have to do is maintain the database within the software system, adding new product upon arrival and filing into the current inventory or upon processing an order and shipping out any items in your warehouse. However, when doing so, remember that you may have to make financial adjustments as you go when you have depreciated any materials that are later purchased for the original sales price. You may want to get some pointers from an accountant or bookkeeper on how to maintain the balance as needed in these instances.

Inventory asset management software is a beautifully advanced method of computerizing your net worth, and anyone who keeps a large quantity of items in a warehouse for an extended period of time should consider implementing it into their inventory management and taxation processes.

Building Your Parts Inventory Management Strategy

It may be quite simple to keep track of items stocked in your warehouse when you are storing inventory of large distinctive items, but parts inventory management can be more difficult. You may have several parts that are identical but because they are different brands, they must be kept separated and properly indexed. Building a strategy to simplify your parts inventory management process will make your job much easier and help your staff to keep the warehouse more organized with less effort.

Bin Assignment

For some, it makes sense to stock similar parts near each other. For example, if brand A fuse and brand X fuse are the same part, you may feel that they should be located in the same general area. However, in many cases, this can lead to mistakes when you or an employee is in a hurry, either grabbing the wrong part or stocking a new shipment in the wrong bin.

A better parts inventory management solution may be to organize parts by brand. In other words, brand X fuse is now with in the same general area as brand X diode, while brand A fuse is far away with other items manufactured by the same brand. This can avoid a lot of confusion.

Importance of Labeling

As you learn more about parts inventory management, you’ll begin to understand why proper labeling should be prominent on all parts in your inventory. If you stock items so that labels can be clearly read or scanned, it is much simpler to pinpoint and correct any mistakes, as well as to prevent errors in the first place. Barcoding is usually the best solution for labeling, since it must be read by a computer or scanner. This eliminates an area where human error could cause a breakdown in the system.

Climate Control

Be aware that, often, certain mechanical and electrical parts must be kept within a certain temperature range and may require a completely dry environment. In fact, when you have a number of electrical products together, you may also want to have a heavy airflow in the area to prevent static build up. Maintaining the proper temperature and climate is essential to parts inventory management, especially when dealing with delicate materials.

Overall, it isn’t all that difficult to build your parts inventory management strategy. A lot of it is simple common sense, combined with determination and organizational skills. As you become more experienced, it will only get better.

Simplifying Processes With Inventory Management Software

When you implement the use of an inventory management software system, you’ll find that your job becomes ten times easier. Software puts you in control in a way you’ve never experienced, allowing you to track and process all information electronically. Software takes away much of the human error that is involved in inventory management, and while it can’t correct all mistakes, it certainly does have its advantages.

Using inventory management software makes it possible to use complex barcoding to identify materials within your inventory that it would be impossible for a human mind to memorize, rather than counting on product packaging or labeling for your inventory control. This means that you can more easily index the correct location within a large warehouse of any item, pull orders or stock new product, and provide simple labeling for all of the goods you keep in stock.

You can use your inventory management software for ordering purposes as well. Most software systems have a means by which you can print out reports showing exact quantities of all items in stock and alerting managers to areas where replenishment of the stock is needed. This makes ordering a breeze by letting you sort items by quantity in stock (bringing up the lowest numbers first) and also helps you determine what products are not moving down the supply chain quickly so that you can back off on the amount of stock in these areas.

When it comes time to run an inventory check, you can quickly and simply verify correct quantities based on the levels of stock shown in the system versus the hand count. Inventory management software systems are incredibly important to the smooth sailing of any link in the supply chain, and it just makes a job that much easier when you have a good software based solution for your part of that chain.

Purchasing The Right Inventory Management Solution Software

You can shop around for different database software solutions forever, but when you find the right inventory management solution software, don’t hesitate in your purchase. How do you know the exact needs of your business? Here are some considerations for you to take with you in your hunt for the perfect inventory management solution software.

• How detailed should my database information be? Do I need just a few fields that I can alter from a template, or do I need to build my own database to hold tons of detailed information on thousands of items in my warehouse?
• I want to be able to index the items in my inventory several different ways, and I want to be able to create printable reports that will tell me how much I’m making in sales, what my best product is, and how often I’m ordering certain products.
• I don’t need a lot of detail; I own a small business, and I only have a few items I order. I simply want all the information available electronically to make ordering easy. I like simply tools, like spreadsheets, that I can search myself to find a part number and place an order.
• I need the works – I want to be able to scan in and out each item that enters and leaves my warehouse, print out barcodes for the items on my shelves and in my bins, print detailed analysis reports, get detailed quantities to verify inventory checks, and on top of all of that I want to be able to automatically forward this information to someone else by email.

All of these solutions are possible, depending upon the amount of money you want to spend on inventory management solution software to accomplish your goal. You can swing by a computer supply store and speak to a clerk to find the software you need.

Using Inventory Management Tools To Help Your Employees

While you may be familiar with the inventory management process and may in fact have years of experience in this area, your employees may be new to the idea. In order to better serve you and maintain proper control of inventory, you may need to provide some inventory management tools to your staff to assist them in their efforts to help you keep your department running smoothly. The key to choosing the right tools is to take into account the type of inventory you stock, the quantities that you keep, and the level of experience on the part of your employees. What sorts of tools are available to you and your employees to ensure that they are able to manage your inventory?

Choosing the Right Tools

The inventory management tools that will best assist your employees in learning and adhering to the guidelines you set forth for inventory control depend much on the type of business you have. If you own a small, independent enterprise, you may only need some specified filing habits that maintain organized packing slips and invoices in order to keep track of the incoming and outgoing stock. In some cases, you may choose to utilize a small database that will decrease the amount of paperwork required and store all the information electronically. For a larger warehouse, especially if you are dealing with items that are all quite similar with the exception of a few digits in a serial number, it is vital to have some sort of database or software management system.

Training Your Employees

Once you have these inventory management tools in place, you need to make sure that your employees are trained in how to use them. Having a database full of information is useless unless your employees can use the software with confidence and ease. Your employees should be able to search, enter information, print reports, and reference ordering information from the software you have chosen for your management tool.

Other inventory management tools that you may use to get your employees up to speed and able to help you maintain a controlled environment are training courses and seminars. There are several how-to courses that can be purchased, as well as general training videos that you can show your employees as a sort of initiation video, and any time a seminar is offered, you should plan to send new employees so that they can learn the importance and overall value of running a tightly controlled department with careful inventory management.

Electronic Tools

Anything that can be computerized is a great help in simplifying processes. Barcodes and scanners are excellent inventory management tools to make the tracking and placing of orders quick and easy for anyone in the department. You can also easily identify that stock is placed in the correct storage area much more efficiently with proper labeling.

These are just a few inventory management tools that can help your employees learn the importance of being organized and being able to keep track of all products that should be in your inventory. With time, implementing the use of such tools will assist in bringing your employees up to speed.

Being In Charge – Inventory Control Management

After several years of being a forklift driver or stocker, you’ve been promoted, and now you are in charge. What this means for you is more than a raise – it also means an incredible responsibility for inventory control management. Now, it’s your job to see that stock levels are maintained in a reasonable fashion and that all items are accounted for when inventory checks are made. It means that the organization of inventory for an entire department or warehouse is now your responsibility. What can you do to ease the burden of such a hefty load? Here are a few dos and don’ts to get you going.

• DO employ individuals who are willing to accept a great deal of responsibility. You cannot be present at all times, and it is vital that you have a staff you can trust to follow proper stocking procedures and maintain operations honestly when you are not around.
• DON’T depend completely on another individual. You are the manager, and inventory control management is solely your responsibility. While it is perfectly acceptable to delegate some of that responsibility to others in your employ, you should not place all the burden on the shoulders of another or even several others.
• DO perform regular reconciliation checks of your inventory in between formal inventory checks to verify that no items are unaccounted for. This will also help to check for any errors in the placement of items within your warehouse space, as well as in the documenting of incoming and outgoing items.
• DO regularly rotate the stock and teach your employees to do the same. Leaving older items tucked beneath new stock of the same product is poor inventory control management that results in the eventual loss of the older items due to expiration.
• DON’T overextend the budget. Part of good inventory control management is ordering smartly. Never purchase too much of a single item, even one that sells quickly. Especially if the stock is of high cost to you, make sure you only keep on hand what is necessary for any period of time. This also holds true with perishable goods.
• DO track the sales of items and determine what brings in the most profit for your department. These are the items that you’ll want to make sure you never to deplete in your inventory, always having enough on hand to meet the demand for the product. On the other hand, slow sellers should be maintained at bare minimum levels.
• DO make sure everything is properly organized and labeled for easy location within the warehouse. The larger your warehouse, the more important this level of organization is to the success and smooth functioning of your department.
• DON’T let employees get lazy; keep them motivated, and refresh their knowledge with brief training classes that provide an overview of the inventory policies in your department.
• DO be regimental and habitual about following guidelines, and set a fine example for others in your adherence to these regulations. They are provided to make your job and the job of your employees easier to do.

Keeping An Inventory Management Database For Easy Reference

If you are in charge of a small warehouse or storage space, you may not realize how important implementing an inventory management database can be. Keeping an inventory management database can help you be certain of models and quantities you have on hand. Supplies of books, CD’s, office supplies, and any other items can be tracked through a simple database without employing any complex or expensive software equipment and will assist you in knowing how much you’re keeping on your shelves.

Use of an inventory management database can range from simply monitoring the number of items on hand to determining cost of the items that you are keeping and profitability from sales.

Advantages

Databases also allow you to index materials based on various details for search options. For example, an inventory management database can be implemented in a bookstore to allow the owner to index the books carried by author, title, subject, and any other fields that are built into the database. For those looking for a way to keep track of sales, an inventory management database can be configured to keep track of the cost and sell price of an item so that, when it is purchased, the profit is logged.

Knowing the quantity of items on hand also allows you to reorder products when the stock is low. For example, if you have a small office supply store and you are down to the last three packages of your best-selling pens, you may overlook it unless you have an inventory management database to alert you of the low stock level.

While most large companies use some sort of software to keep track of inventory, many small businesses forego such important systems. Using an inventory management database to keep track of your items can be essential to the success of your small business.