If business owners and employees shudder when they hear the term ‘inventory management‘, this may be a sign that they and their business suffer from an “automation software deficit disorder”. It’s reversible when they stop laboriously tracking inventory manually (think spreadsheets and data entry) and automate processes with software for inventory management.
Inventory control automation—under the umbrella of a comprehensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution—can cure what ails a business and usher in some amazing, business-healing benefits.
Inventory Management Software + an ERP System = Cure for Inventory Woes
Before looking at the benefits of deploying inventory software within a one-stop-shop ERP system, let’s take a quick look at the symptoms those who suffer from this “disorder” (all puns intended) may be currently experiencing:
- Inaccurate inventory resulting in too much or not enough product
- Skyrocketing costs
- Unfulfilled (or improperly filled) customer orders
- Data errors from manual data entry
- Slow decision-making due to lack of fast, accurate information
These symptoms are painful, but inventory management software and a cloud-based ERP solution can help resolve them completely.
How?
Automation software replaces the glorified guesswork that is manual tracking with powerful, flexible technology. For example, it manages multiple warehouses with location-specific inventory quantities, allocations, availability, and costs. Replenishment features allow for the definition of minimum/maximum order quantities, reorder points, seasonality, lead times, and more, including forecasting for replenishment needs. Tracking inventory with barcode scanning and tracing by lot or serial number will make the pick/pack process a veritable breeze. There are even more inventory management tools at a user’s disposal, such as building kits to stock or to order with disassembly features.
Now, wrap these amazing features and capabilities within a cloud ERP system, and what happens? Inventory management software integrates with the ERP solution’s financial, CRM, project management, and other critical applications used to run a business every day.
The result is phenomenal interoperability. Manage inventory needs—from paying invoices to monitoring inventory levels and everything in between—in one centralized system. The flow of data between applications will be uninterrupted and the business information employees need will be accurate.
With inventory management and accounting automation, businesses will be streamlined, efficient, and connected.
Top 5 Benefits of Inventory Management Automation
Inventory management software within a cloud-based ERP system can truly cure the automation software deficit disorder. Here are the top five automation benefits:
- Optimized inventory: Increase inventory turns with replenishment and automation.
- Improved customer satisfaction: Real-time access to inventory levels and customer-specific pricing along with avoiding stock-out situations leads to happy customers.
- Managed costs: Accurately track costs of goods sold and inventory carrying costs while reducing rush orders, identifying low-cost vendors, minimizing freight charges, and reducing write-offs for expired or obsolete inventory.
- Increased data accuracy: Integrated processes and barcode data capture makes manual data entry obsolete. Errors with default settings for accounts, subaccounts, valuation methods, lot and serial numbers, storage locations, and more are eliminated.
- Accelerated decision-making: Spot trends with drill-down reports and dashboards, identify low and dead-stock items, and analyze profitability by item and product class or family.
These benefits are the antithesis of the symptoms that businesses may currently be experiencing with their manual, error-prone processes and lack of automation software. Today may be the day to begin researching inventory management software and cloud ERP system options.
Start using ZapInventory today
