flevyblog

Flevy Blog is an online business magazine covering Business Strategies, Business Theories, & Business Stories.
MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP STRATEGY, MARKETING, SALES OPERATIONS & SUPPLY CHAIN ORGANIZATION & CHANGE IT/MIS Other

Benefits of Using Software to Optimize Inventory Management

Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, Digital Transformation Strategy (145-slide PowerPoint presentation). Digital Transformation is being embraced by organizations across most industries, as the role of technology shifts from being a business enabler to a business driver. This has only been accelerated by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Thus, to remain competitive and outcompete in today's fast paced, [read more]

* * * *

As the world shifts deeper into technology and technological advancements, businesses are doing everything possible to optimize their inventory management through efficient software.

This article will assist in making the detrimental decision of picking the software that best suits any developing or seasoned business.

What Is Inventory Management?

Inventory management is a system where tracking stock and assets to their destination is the goal. Stock review is the easiest method to perform and it is most appropriate for small businesses.

The ultimate advantage of inventory management, across the board, is simplicity.

According to Right Sized Inventory (RSI):

The inventory of a company has several different parts and stock-keeping units (SKUs) that need review and evaluation. The most effective way to keep up with everything across a large inventory holding is to use the software.

Management of inventory is often multifaceted. It requires input from a range of different parts of the organization.

The Differences between Right and Wrong Software

Software selection is not frivolous. The impact this seemingly simple task has is exceedingly significant.

What is “wrong” when searching for efficient inventory management software?

The wrong software will often create ill-suited recommendations, resulting in serious stockouts as well as excess inventory.

It would also consume many of the hours used by staff members during workdays. Improper time consumption is an ongoing resource drain that the majority of companies are not able to afford.

Lastly, it could erode any trust between the users.

What is “right” when searching for efficient inventory management software?

The most efficient inventory management software will have complete transparency from the vendor. If the vendor states that their process is “secret” and “proprietary,” it becomes impossible to determine the adequacy of the software.

Understanding the technology that lies underneath is exceptionally significant to the ultimate cause. Gaining clarity around the actual cost and profitability of the inventory makes a difference when optimizing inventory management.

It is beneficial to understand how the software functions because lacking comprehension could lead to zero result explanations. Explaining the results is almost a must to avoid tedious trust-building from the end-users.

The “end-users” are the people who will ultimately use the product provided by the company or organization. In technology, the end-user is not necessarily the actual customer, but routinely the employee assisting the customer.

Substantially, conducting engagement with the end-users has considerable significance. Even the most efficient inventory management software is rendered useless if the results are overridden by the end-users.

After obtaining an understanding of the technology utilized, identify a software selection team that includes a representation of the principal stakeholder groups such as:

  • Maintenance
  • Procurement
  • Engineering
  • Reliability
  • Finance
  • Information Technology (IT)
  • Storeroom

All members of these teams should trust the selections created. It is crucial to be clear about the goal of the company. Simply Stakeholders provides a detailed description of the importance of stakeholders.

The Benefits of Using Efficient Inventory Management Software

Efficient software means more free time for other tasks: 

Automation software takes care of the simple tasks to allow more focus on growing the business. This permits the company owner to gain efficiencies through time saved from dealing with the more typical workflows such as tracking and developing purchase orders to suppliers.

Using word documents and spreadsheets does not scale nearly as decent as efficient inventory management software does.

Another time-consuming task involves dealing with the synchronization of multiple sales channels to several dashboards. Fortunately, there is software available that allows companies to sync all channels to a single, centralized dashboard.

Reliable optimization software ensures that companies only have to edit their listings once. Having the ability to update the price of a listing once, applying it to all available channels, further saves the company time.

Update the stock levels of the company automatically: 

Viewing up-to-date stock levels on all product pages of all channels allows the company to gain visibility around stock levels, eliminating stockouts.

Stockouts cause a loss of sales when there is no product to sell.

Manage the inventory for multiple warehouses: 

It is important to know now how many items of each product are in possession in each warehouse. Inventory management software makes this process effortless.

Advanced inventory management becomes smoother than ever before: 

Inventory management software makes it easier to manage complex inventory such as bundles, built products, multipacks, components, and serialized inventory.

The business will inevitably run smoother if the arduous, more taxing inventory management tasks become a breeze for the owner of the organization and all of their team members.

In Conclusion

The tips listed in this article should help any growing business successfully search for the most efficient inventory management software.

32-slide PowerPoint presentation
The Business Case is an instrumental tool in both justifying a project (requiring a capital budgeting decision), as well as measuring the project's success. The Business Case model typically takes the form of an Excel spreadsheet and quantifies the financial components of the project, [read more]

Do You Want to Implement Business Best Practices?

You can download in-depth presentations on 100s of management topics from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives.

For even more best practices available on Flevy, have a look at our top 100 lists:

These best practices are of the same as those leveraged by top-tier management consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and Accenture. Improve the growth and efficiency of your organization by utilizing these best practice frameworks, templates, and tools. Most were developed by seasoned executives and consultants with over 20+ years of experience.

Readers of This Article Are Interested in These Resources


407-slide PowerPoint presentation
This is a very comprehensive document with over 400+ slides--covering 58 common management consulting frameworks and methodologies (listed below in alphabetical order). A detailed summary is provided for each business framework. The frameworks in this deck span across Corporate Strategy, [read more]


 
1150-slide PowerPoint presentation
 
 
103-slide PowerPoint presentation

About Shane Avron

Shane Avron is a freelance writer, specializing in business, general management, enterprise software, and digital technologies. In addition to Flevy, Shane's articles have appeared in Huffington Post, Forbes Magazine, among other business journals.


Complimentary Business Training Guides


Many companies develop robust strategies, but struggle with operationalizing their strategies into implementable steps. This presentation from flevy introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. [Learn more]

  This 48-page whitepaper, authored by consultancy Envisioning, provides the frameworks, tools, and insights needed to manage serious Change—under the backdrop of the business lifecycle. These lifecycle stages are each marked by distinct attributes, challenges, and behaviors. [Learn more]

We've developed a very comprehensive collection of Strategy & Transformation PowerPoint templates for you to use in your own business presentations, spanning topics from Growth Strategy to Brand Development to Innovation to Customer Experience to Strategic Management. [Learn more]

  We have compiled a collection of 10 Lean Six Sigma templates (Excel) and Operational Excellence guides (PowerPoint) by a multitude of LSS experts. These tools cover topics including 8 Disciplines (8D), 5 Why's, 7 Wastes, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), and DMAIC. [Learn more]
Recent Articles by Corporate Function

  

  

  

  

  

The Flevy Business Blog (https://flevy.com/blog) is a leading source of information on business strategies, business theories, and business stories. Most of our articles are authored by management consultants and industry executives with over 20 years of experience.

Flevy (https://flevy.com) is the marketplace for business best practices, such as management frameworks, presentation templates, and financial models. Our best practice documents are of the same caliber as those produced by top-tier consulting firms (like McKinsey, Bain, Accenture, BCG, and Deloitte) and used by Fortune 100 organizations. Learn more about Flevy here.
  


OUR CORE OFFERINGS
Flevy Marketplace: Top 100
· Strategy & Transformation
· Digital Transformation
· Operational Excellence
· Organization & Change
· Financial Models
· Consulting Frameworks
· PowerPoint Templates
FlevyPro (Subscription Service)
KPI Library
Streams (Functional Bundles)
Flevy Executive Learning (FEL)
PowerPoint Services

FREE Resources

About Flevy
Management Topics
Marcus (AI-Powered Consultant)
Partner Program
LinkedIn Influencer Marketing
FAQ / Terms / Privacy / Blog
Contact Us: support@flevy.com



CONNECT WITH US!
       
TOP 100 TRENDING TOPICS
Acquisition Strategy
Agile
Analytics
Artificial Intelligence
Balanced Scorecard
Best Practices
Big Data
Breakout Strategy
Business Continuity Planning
Business Plan Financial Model
Business Transformation
CMMI
COBIT
Change Management
Cloud
Communications Strategy
Company Financial Model
Competitive Advantage
Competitive Analysis
Consulting Frameworks
Continuous Improvement
Core Competencies
Corporate Culture
Cost Reduction Assessment
Customer Experience

BROWSE BY FUNCTION
Strategy, Transformation, & Innovation
Digital Transformation
Operational Excellence and LSS
Organization, Change, & HR
Management Consulting

Customer Journey
Customer Service
Cyber Security
Data Privacy
Decision Making
Digital Marketing Strategy
Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation Strategy
Due Diligence
ESG
Employee Engagement
Employee Training
Enterprise Architecture
Growth Strategy
HR Strategy
Hiring
Hoshin Kanri
ISO 27001
ITIL
Information Technology
Innovation Management
Integrated Financial Model
Kaizen
Kanban
Key Performance Indicators

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Business Strategy Frameworks
Case Studies
Consulting Training Guides
COVID-19 Trend Data
Digital Transformation
Financial Advising Services (FAS)

Knowledge Management
Leadership
Lean
Lean Manufacturing
Logistics
M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions)
Manufacturing
Market Research
Marketing Plan Development
Maturity Model
McKinsey PowerPoint
McKinsey Templates
Operational Excellence
Organizational Change
Organizational Design
Performance Management
Post-merger Integration
Pricing Strategy
Process Improvement
Process Maps
Procurement Strategy
Product Launch Strategy
Product Strategy
Project Management
Quality Management


Free Resources
KPI Library
Lean Management
Lean Six Sigma Training Guides
Marcus Insights
Operational Excellence

Real Estate
Remote Work
Restructuring
Risk Management
Robotic Process Automation
SWOT
SaaS
Sales
Scrum
Service Design
Six Sigma Project
Social Media Strategy
Strategic Planning
Strategic Thinking
Strategy Development
Supply Chain Analysis
Sustainability
Target Operating Model
Team Management
Total Productive Maintenance
Value Chain Analysis
Value Creation
Value Stream Mapping
Visual Workplace
Workplace Safety


Product Strategy
Small Business Owner
Startup Resources
Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning Process
Value Innovation Strategy


© 2012-2024 Copyright. Flevy LLC. All Rights Reserved.