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Managing inventory can be very challenging, and when you are a growing business it can be really painful.
If you are facing issues in tracking your inventory and if it is getting difficult for you to optimize your warehouses and storage facilities then you have come to the right place.
In this article, we will tell you why you need to change your inventory management system.
Suggested article: What is inventory management and why is it important?
About Important Things
Each year e-commerce sales grow drastically. And with global circumstances that make health and safety a priority when purchasing products, our e-commerce marketplaces will expand in size. Therefore it will be more difficult to keep up with the high demand and competition to provide exceptional customer experience.
Managing your inventory will not only determine your expandability, but also it will shape your consumer’s loyalty to your brand in the long run.
Hence, having the right inventory management software is essential. Good inventory management software develops a deep relationship between your business and the customers.
Predicting the demand, stock levels, and other traceability factors play a huge role in cash flow management which is all about meeting customer expectations. So the main reason the customers change the inventory management software is when the certain software does not suffice the demand. This idea of inventory management software and other practices that are needed to positively impact the customer experience. The key here is to see your role as a little more than just supplying goods correctly, safely and effectively, it is about facilitating the whole customer experience. For example, considering timeliness deeper than meeting your service level agreement for dispatch and delivery timeframes is a good practice to aid customers’ decision-making process. When facilitating your customers with the ways they do business, then they are more likely to do business with you and not change your software later.
Questions to ask when choosing inventory management
Let’s take a look at the guide to choosing an inventory management system and some questions to ask before selecting one. Here is an outline to the most important questions to ask when selecting an automated inventory management.
Question 1: How big is your business?
The first important question to clarify is what size and stage of growth your business is in. If your business is still small, paying a lot of money for inventory management is probably not a very good idea. Until you get to around $100k in turnover, a spreadsheet may be adequate enough for your simple inventory needs. Medium and large businesses usually have more complex inventory ecosystems, which require more advanced inventory management features. So taking into consideration these factors, choosing an inventory management software will be easier.
Question 2: What is your budget?
If you want inventory management software, you need to fit it into your budget. You must know that if you have a small business, you have limited resources. So you must spend your money wisely and make sure that you get a lot of value out of their purchases.
Question 3: What type of inventory management software does your business need?
You must have a clear idea of what your concerns are. First of all, you must know that the mode of operation of each type of business is different. For example, if you are running a hardware store, the factors you might need to update will be different from that of restaurant business software. Secondly, the specific needs of the business must also be taken into consideration. For example, you require software that helps print barcodes for your products. So, you need to check if you get software that provides you both inventory management and barcode printing.
Question 4: What problems do you need to solve?
If you’re buying an inventory management solution, make sure you know what problem that tool is going to be solving. Make a list of inventory management challenges or other operational challenges you want your inventory management system to solve. This could include things like:
- More accurately tracking stock levels
- Reducing the cost of holding stock
- Saving time and streamlining workflows
- Increasing profits
- Forecasting customer demand and etc.
Question 5: How easy is the software to use?
This software is not only used by you, but also by others among your staff. The software should be user-friendly so you can train more than one employee on how to use it. That way, you can spread inventory management tasks across more workers and easily replace employees when they leave and you hire new ones.
Knowing the answers to these questions and many more like these, will help you navigate through the variates of inventory management software that you may find. In this always growing world, it is distinguishable how we track, store and manage our data when managing a business. The right inventory management software can ensure that the logistical side of your business is safe. If it does not ensure this, then it is time to change the software.
Inventory management software, for that matter, should then be a tool to assist you in delivering functional excellence and innovation. When this is done properly, it allows people to operate at their best and customers to develop a deep relationship with your business.
Moving forward
Write down your responses to these questions. Talk about them with other decision makers in your company. Move forward with confidence! You can sign up for ElmaSys demo right now to see if it’s the right inventory management software for you.
To find out if ElmaSys is a good fit for your business, click here for a demo.
