How Real-Time Inventory Control has helped SMEs – Probiz ERP

Real-time inventory management is that the process of recording sales and purchases of inventory immediately through the utilization of a software in order that your company gains an entire picture of what is occurring with inventory, enabling your organization to react quicker to provide chain needs. instead of periodically updating inventory at pre-determined intervals (usually through the utilization of inventory counts), real-time systems record every transaction (both purchases of latest stock also as outbound orders and every one of the associated costs) in real-time.

The inventory management system is the backbone for recording overall receipts and sales of product. For companies that employment during a brick-and-mortar environment, point of sale systems provide the technology that permits real-time updates for product sales, whereas companies that sell online are going to be required to integrate their online sales channels with their inventory system to record sales. There are some enterprise level systems that bring all those functions under one "software platform roof". Furthermore, companies will oftentimes supplement these systems with other tools, like RFID (radio frequency Identification) technologies or Universal Product Code systems so as to more quickly and effectively record new receipts and sales.

With the advancement of enterprise resource planning (ERP) in manufacturing, the turn was made by software developers to build a better way of maintaining inventory. In the past, inventory control was less "control" and more "guessing" as a result of delays in data entry. Before coordination through ERP methods, inventory clerks were ensconced in a paper-based system that depended very much upon the completion and filing of paper-based inventory forms. Inventory dispositions were often not completely known for 24 hours or so-if ever.

When poor inventory control is combined with poor management in other aspects of manufacturing (selling, purchasing, scheduling, production, shipping, etc.), the results can be disastrous. Indeed, for any defined trading period, it is vital that a manufacturer (or job shop) know what stock levels must be maintained to fully, quickly, and efficiently service their customers. Without such planning, lead times can be underestimated and supply delays may exceed delivery due dates, causing missed on-time deliveries.

A robust manufacturing ERP system software is designed to overcome the paper-based inventory management by combining and analyzing real-time data from all parts of the operation. It begins by building an electronic database of the inventory. This database is not merely a "piece-count" of on-hand stock; rather, it is a multivariate approach that takes into account such notions as existing stock, vendor, costs, reoccurring sales, and average lead times for unique stock or one-off parts. Any changes in inventory are reflected in minutes, if not immediately, by the company's ERP system, so that a worker taking an order can immediately see if the necessary raw materials are in stock.

Tracking inventory stock can also be made much easier in ERP via bar code labeling systems. Here, inventoried parts/pieces are tagged with bar code labels-each having a unique product code. When parts/pieces are removed from or added to inventory, they are scanned with hand-held devices and their stock information is input into the ERP system. Not only is the computerization of the inventory data important for purchasing (especially automated purchasing), but it also stands available at any moment to let customers know what stock is on-hand and available for immediate use in production or for shipping/delivery. Often, bar code systems are tied into graphical user interface terminals (GUI), making the inventory management process even easier.

Here is how Real-Time Inventory Control has helped SMEs:

Lesser Inventory holding

For smaller product companies, manufacturing and storing of products take up a lot of their processes and investments, and likewise, during peak times, the extra load on the production lines also can block further channels. This is where eCommerce has helped millions of SMEs and Startups – in identifying the right demand and reaching out to more customers while keeping the production at optimum. Interestingly, it has also helped in creating de-marketing during off-seasons, i.e. spreading demand over non-peak seasons through discounting, complementary offers, and analyzing the impact of the same through real-time control.

Better analytics

Real-Time control of inventory helps in better analytics of your data region or product-wise. Tracking is the core benefit of real-time inventory control but that tracking component is incomplete without analytics and drawing out efficient processes for the company. Simple things like drawing out shorter delivery routes, localization and mapping of regions, creating hubs, and spokes for areas with high demand help you in easing off the load during peak times, saving a lot of money, and gaining customer loyalty by efficient and timely delivery of products.

Going Paperless

Going paperless today is not a luxury but a necessity. Integrating your warehouse with ERP software and Online booking tool gives you a complete view of your organization. This helps to bring in all the departments and processes at one platform eliminating pen and paper and giving away the need for physical storage of space. From forecasting to inventory management and finance management for all clients during all seasons, you can now do it from a single platform helping you contribute a small but essential bit to the environment. It also gives you the ease of applying inventory concepts like LIFO, FIFO at ease.

Real-Time Reporting

Reporting is an essential process in any organization without which the management will not effectively forecast the future or pinpoint what is blocking the processes. With Real-Time inventory control, the reports are dynamic – i.e. can be generated at any time and any place. It gives a much intricate control of the organization. Also, in an ERP system, you get to map employees with the data that they can have access to and get a full report of the changes made and by whom.

Future Trends

Knowing only about your current operations is not important. To be a market leader in these competitive times, you need to start understanding the audience and what might be the trend in the future. Integrating your Social media along with Inventory management and ERP will allow you to collect insights directly from the audience which on analysis can give you metrics to improve on ideas to work on a new product and get the ‘First Mover’ advantage.

A software developer with an interest in technical content writing.