Did you know that the average retail business in the United States has an inventory accuracy of only 63 percent? This shocking statistic shows the necessity of utilizing new methods to boost your business’s efficiency when it comes to monitoring your inventory. Perhaps the best way to do so is by investing in inventory management software.
In this article, we’ll discuss the ins and outs of inventory management and explore how software can be used to optimize your business and ensure inventory accuracy. Keep reading to learn more.
What Is Inventory Management?
A critical element of the supply chain, inventory management involves the tracking of inventory from manufacturers to warehouses and sales destinations. The goal is to have the right products in the right place at the right time.
Proper inventory management will guarantee you have the correct amount of stock to fulfill customer demands; it will also enable you to provide warnings for any potential shortages. Poor inventory management, on the other hand, could result in unsold stock, which can significantly reduce your business’s earnings.
Popular Inventory Management Software
Thankfully, when it comes to inventory management, there are many tools available to help ease the process. However, it is important to note that no perfect software exists, and every solution will have its disadvantages. The one you choose should ultimately be based on your overall business model and the size of your operation.
Cin7 Orderhive
Aimed at providing a means to “integrate everything that you rely on,” Cin7 Orderhive is an e-commerce automation platform that allows businesses to easily and efficiently automate their operations across multiple channels. This mobile-friendly, feature-packed software is essentially a “warehouse in your pocket,” enabling businesses to track and manage their inventory, receive sales orders, send stock and order updates, buy shipping labels, and accept payments.
Pros
- Automates backend processes
- Order fulfillment across multiple channels
- Real-time data reports
Cons
- Temporary errors and outages
- Doesn’t allow stock reserve customization
- Challenges with shipping and returns
inFlow
An award-winning all-in-one inventory management software, inFlow lets you fulfill orders, print labels, track inventory, scan barcodes and reorder stock. Businesses can even create their own B2B Portal with inFlow’s Online Showroom feature, which makes all your product photos, details, and descriptions available for customers to browse online.
Pros
- Ease of use
- Feature-rich
- Barcode scanning capabilities
Cons
- Lags when communicating with a server
- Lacks report customization
- Minimal support after a maintenance period
Lightspeed Retail
A cloud-based solution for managing your business, Lightspeed Retail is a one-stop commerce platform for international retail merchants. With this software, you can easily manage your inventory across all sales channels, add new products, create new variants, and monitor stock levels. Businesses can also manage discounts and set up seasonal promotions in advance and receive low-stock alerts that will ensure you never run out of a product.
Pros
- User friendly
- 24/7 support
- Discount management
Cons
- No routine system updates
- Difficult returns process
- Slow-loading speeds
Upserve Inventory
Upserve Inventory allows restaurants to streamline their back-of-house operations, reduce waste and cut food costs. In addition to automatic inventory tracking, Upserve enables restaurants to set par and warning levels and place orders through Upserve Inventory. Its recipe-building tool provides a cost for each recipe, and its purchase versus sales report allows real-time inventory and variance tracking so you can see exactly where your inventory is going.
Pros
- Robust reporting system
- Customer service chat feature
- Intuitive software
Cons
- Learning curve
- Minor bugs
- Costly to run multiple terminals
7 Benefits of Inventory Management Software
Utilizing an inventory management system can substantially boost your business in a myriad of ways, including reducing stockouts and overstocks, which can lower inventory costs by 10%. Below we will discuss other valuable benefits of using a software program to help monitor your stock.
Increased Productivity
Inventory management software can increase your business’s productivity by providing a means of monitoring and replenishing your stock automatically, freeing up time that would otherwise be spent manually entering inventory levels and submitting purchasing orders.
Better Organization
This type of software will also help keep your business organized and your overall operations more efficient, as it allows you to complete a variety of processes, such as purchasing, order fulfillment, and reporting, to be completed through the same platform.
Information Transparency
Because inventory management software provides a comprehensive outlook of your stock and real-time forecasting reports, businesses can easily identify any supply chain issues that could affect the manufacturing or delivery processes of certain items. This way, you can alert customers of possible supply shortages, which will ultimately boost your business’s credibility and brand reputation.
Improved Data Security
Another perk of using inventory management software is that it comes equipped with features that protect your information by performing routine data backups. It also defends your customers against cyber threats like data theft.
Reduced Margin of Error
It’s no surprise that using a manual inventory tracking process can be riddled with mistakes and errors. In addition to causing reordering and delivery issues, mistakes from manually monitoring your inventory can also result in overstocks and stockouts. For this reason, an automatic tracking system is essential to ensure that your inventory is accurate and up to date.
More Scalability Options
Inventory management software has a variety of plans available based on the size of your business and the number of orders you fulfill each month. As your business expands, you can upgrade to the next tier or even purchase add-on features as they are required.
Labor Saving
Businesses can cut back on labor costs substantially by using an automatic inventory tracking system, as the software can complete a variety of tasks without the need for multiple employees. Not only will this save money, but it also helps make sure that your staff isn’t spread thin and overwhelmed with their workload.
Custom Inventory Management Software from Idea Maker
Interested in discovering how inventory management software can optimize your own business? Idea Maker specializes in creating high-quality custom software that’s developed with efficiency in mind. Our team of experts is committed to providing each of our clients with a top-notch product that can increase your business’s productivity and streamline your operations. Schedule a consultation with us today to learn more.
