How an Inventory Control System Could Help You Reduce Costs and Optimise Storage Space

An Effective Inventory Control System

Warehouse managers must attempt to maintain just enough stock to meet estimated demands. An inventory control system can help avoid under or over-stocking. Wholesale and retail are dynamic activities in which multiple factors control the levels of each item stocked. Every item despatched to a retail outlet or sold to a customer must eventually be replaced before stock levels are exhausted to ensure continuity of service and satisfied clients.

In an ideal world, the demand for a given product would always be predictable, and a warehouse or retailer could rely on the appropriate supplier to meet their requirements timeously. However, in the real world, things don’t always work out as one might hope. Tastes change; last month’s best-seller could be surplus to requirements by next month. Items that don’t sell take up valuable floor space that could be used to store more popular items, while those unwanted products tie up company cash that could be best invested in other goods.

Successfully operating a stockroomSuccessfully operating a stockroom or warehouse is a delicate balancing act that requires foresight but which, unfortunately, is quite often based on a mix of experience and guesswork. Periodic stock takes are helpful, but the data they provide is historical. Therefore, it is fortunate that digital technology now offers a means to monitor stock movements continuously and accurately and increase overall operating efficiency.

The Key Requirements Of An Effective Inventory Control System

The primary objective of these systems is to track stock movements, manage inventory levels and optimise all related operations. The following sections outline some of the main ways in which they can help warehouse managers achieve these crucial objectives.

  • Inventory tracking: By tracking inventory levels in real time, the system can ensure warehouse managers or business owners are constantly apprised of the precise numbers of each SKU on hand at any given time.
  • Demand forecasting: A well-designed system should be able to analyse historical data and utilise the findings to forecast future demands. Managers can make more informed decisions when adjusting stock levels when armed with this information.
  • Order management: An inventory control system can help a company avoid stockouts by ensuring timely replenishments when necessary and handle order processing. These features make it easier for companies to complete their customers’ orders timeously and in full, thus helping to optimise client satisfaction and loyalty.
  • Point-of-sale integration: Another valuable feature of these systems is the ability to access data from points of sale and utilise it to perform real-time updates of inventory levels as each transaction occurs.
  • Multiple location monitoring: A business with multiple storage facilities or shops in different geographical locations can benefit from an inventory control system with the capacity to operate across multiple locations.
  • ERP integration: Ideally, the control software should be designed to integrate seamlessly with enterprise resource planning systems to facilitate data exchange between the accounting, sales and inventory management functions.

FenyaSoft Has Developed a World-Class Inventory Control System

Business integration software and the associated hardware is our speciality. Our system ticks all the above boxes and more. Why not follow this link to see how we can help you transform your inventory control procedures today?

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