The greatest inventory software addresses a lot of issues while managing inventory. However, if businesses choose inadequate systems, there are bound to be issues. Here are some of the features to look for in inventory management systems.
Inventory tracking in real-time
This is the most important and fundamental requirement for an inventory management system. Your software must accurately depict what you have and where it is located, as well as reflect any stock movements or allocations made by your business in real time. That means:
Your stock position is updated to reflect sales orders. You won’t sell the same item more than once or stuff that you can’t deliver.
As soon as incoming products are scanned at the warehouse, your inventory management software automatically updates. Real-time warehouse moves are shown.
If you’re a manufacturer, set aside components for production. Therefore, you avoid beginning a fresh assembly run just to discover that half of your parts were used up on another project.
Inventory value update in real-time
The financial team wants to know how much the stock is worth, whereas warehouse management and operations are concerned with what they have and where it is.
Therefore, an effective inventory management system must update your accounting program in real-time. Therefore, you will need the following:
Dependable inventory figures that take into account changes in the cost or scale of your transactions. A real-time breakdown of inventory value by warehouse, geography, and nation.
Support for several currencies if you purchase, sell, or trade-in different nations. Tracking fluctuating inventory expenses, such as courier fees or production waste, with accuracy.
The capacity to combine goods to provide a more detailed understanding of the Cost of Good Sold (Cogs).
Alerts
Knowing exactly where and how much stock you have is useless if it doesn’t stop you from running out. In order to swiftly issue a purchase order in response to an alert that vital stock is running low, your inventory management software must have the option to set automatic notifications.
You’ll need to be able to create a reorder report that identifies everything that requires reordering in order to complete your purchasing in one fell swoop for scaled stock management.
No limitations on no. of products
Any inventory management software that restricts the number of products you can add should be avoided. The same is true for any restrictions on clients, sales, and suppliers. Purchasing inventory management software is an investment in growth readiness. So, while addressing today’s requirements, make plans for those of tomorrow as well.
Bill of Material Management
The BoMs are the specifications that specify the exact quantity of the parts that go into an assembled product. The process of acquiring the appropriate components in the appropriate quantities for a scheduled production run becomes noticeably easier if your inventory management software also manages your bill of materials (BoMs).
The best inventory management programs will automatically fill purchase orders from your BOM, accounting for the stock needed to complete the run. For more complex built items, it should also allow you to nest many levels of BoMs and track the cost of any production waste.
What are some other features that your business requires?