Inventory Management Software

Inventory Management Software:

Inventory management software is a software that is used to manage the inventory in an organization. It helps the user in tracking inventory levels, such as orders, sales and deliveries as well as organizing inventory data in the organization. It is used to avoid product overstock and outages in a company. Inventory management software is also used to create a work order, bill of materials and production related documents in a manufacturing industry. Usually products are transported from a vendor to a warehouse, between warehouses, picking, packing and shipping items from a warehouse, and finally to a retail location or directly to a customer. It is helpful to track these things using an inventory management software.

Advantages of inventory management software:

There are several advantages of using an inventory management software in an organization. These include:

Cost saving:

The inventory of an organization should be maintained in a best possible manner. It is important to ensure that there is no unnecessary wastage of the inventory by overstocking as well as there is no shortage at the same time. The inventory management software helps to minimize the number of unnecessary products in storage and also keep appropriate stock on hand to meet the demand. Therefore it maintain a balance between storage and demand that help in cutting down the expenses of the organization.

Increased efficiency:

Inventory management software can automate all inventory related tasks such as collection of data, creating records, conducting calculations. This automation of task not only save time and cost but also increase efficiency of the system.

Warehouse organization:

Optimization of warehouse for manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers. Products which are sold together or the ones for which have high demand can be grouped together or categorized, and they can be stored in large quantities. These can also be placed near the delivery area to speed up the process of picking.

Updated data:

An up to date and real time data on inventory conditions and levels can be successfully maintained by using an inventory management software. These data are easily accessible through various devices like laptops, mobiles and computers by the company executives anytime and anywhere to check the current status of inventory numbers. These automatic updated records helps businesses to make informed decisions quickly on time.

Data security:

The user rights for inventory management software is restricted to avoid data leakage or data misplace when required. The authorized manager can grant limited access to the other employees which will be enough to do the required tasks such as receive products, make orders, transfer products etc. without compromising company security. This can speed up the inventory management process and save the time of manager.

Insight into trends:

The user can easily get an insight of the trends by using inventory management software. It can track all the product related information such as where products are stocked, the suppliers and how long they are stored. Companies can maintain inventory levels and maximize the use of warehouse space by analyzing these data.  

Uninterrupted Production:

As the required quantities of inventories are estimated and maintained at all times within the organization, the production is uninterrupted. The inventory management software ensure a smooth production procedure by keeping an adequate quantity of stock of raw materials.

Timely Supply of the Inventory:

As an inventory management software helps in maintaining adequate stocks, a timely and regular supply of the inventory is always possible.
It helps in avoiding a shortage of raw materials and also helps in keeping away the duplicate ordering. So, the the stocks can be easily regulated and optimized.

Disadvantages of Inventory Management Software:

The main disadvantages of an inventory management software is its cost and complexity.

• The inventory management software available in market are very expensive because of the barcode readers and other hardware used in it. So, it can not be afforded by small companies. As smartphones are used as QR code readers, smaller companies avoid the high expense of custom hardware for inventory management.
• Because of its complexity, the management team need certain amount of time to learn inventory management software including both software and hardware. The user can go through the training manuals and other information provided by inventory management software.