Why you need inventory management software
In retail, an accurate understanding of your inventory can make or break your business. So learning how to manage that inventory is vital.
When will an item sell out?
When’s the best time to restock your best selling products?
How much does it cost to store products that aren’t selling?
You probably can’t answer these questions off the top of your head – but this information is vital to the success of your business. That’s why you need inventory management software.
Spreadsheets can’t handle the demands of modern inventory management
You might be tempted to manage your inventory using spreadsheets, but they weren’t really designed for that.
Spreadsheets leave you vulnerable to a number of problems, because they:
Take a lot of time and effort to manage
Can’t talk to your other systems, such as accounting or point of sale (POS) software
Are slow to update, which means the data is almost always old
Don’t give you an overview of how your products are performing
Some reasons you should use cloud inventory management software
1. Inventory management should scale with your business
Your retail business might be small today, but your inventory will get larger and more diverse as you grow.
You might want to open another store, add new product lines, or start selling online. Modern inventory management software makes it easy to add products or sales channels. Plus they allow you to compare sales data from right across your business.
2. The cloud lets you sync with other retail software
Traditional inventory management is a complex web of ordering and receiving stock from suppliers, storing and tracking that stock, and monitoring sales.
When you integrate cloud inventory management software with other online products, the data can flow automatically from one system to another. So when something’s sold, your POS system tells your:
Accounting software, which records the revenue and tax
Inventory management software, which can automatically reorder if you’re getting low
Business performance dashboard, which shows store profitability live on your mobile
An automated and integrated suite of systems like this is updated in real time. It's also free from manual data entry errors and gives you the tools to understand and improve every part of your business.
3. Up-to-date data helps you make important decisions
Cloud-based inventory management systems can surface this information in real time and display it at the touch of a button. The best systems will offer analytical tools that tell you everything you need to know about your business:
Get the data: Access accurate, real-time sales data across all your sales channels
See the detail: Drill down into customer groups, product types and individual orders
Find your star products: Identify your best and worst-selling products, so you can order the right items, in the right quantities, at the right time
Run cost comparisons: See which suppliers are offering the best deal
Create reorders: Simplify stock control by automatically reordering popular products.
Inventory analytics tools can provide you the insights to make faster and better decisions. Proper reporting can identify opportunities to reduce costs and improve your marketing.
4. Manage your inventory on the go
With cloud based inventory management software, you can access your inventory data from anywhere, at any time all you need is an internet connection.
Having mobile access to your inventory is crucial if you want to expand your retail business.
You can receive notifications, check stock levels, and reorder products from the road.
As your business grows, you might look at opening new stores. This means new inventory management challenges – you’ll have to monitor the inventories of multiple stores and online sales channels. But with the right software, managing the inventory for five stores is much the same as managing the inventory for one.
Conclusion
Inventory management is very useful as Inventory management software can remove the guesswork and give you greater control of your business and make it easier for you!
Want to know more information about Xero?
Call us at +65 6262 0402 or email us at care@acebizservices.com to get the information details on your needs.
Credit: Inventory Management | Xero SG