Inventory Management Software: Features, Benefits and Choosing the Right Solution

Deliver the Goods with Inventory Management Software 

In today’s fast-paced business environment, where AI, apps, and automation dominate, customers demand faster and more accurate service than ever before. Essentially, they expect to order goods with a single click and have them delivered before lifting their finger from the mouse or screen. 

To meet these expectations, your inventory management needs to be streamlined. 

Without structured inventory management, you can never be sure you have the goods ready and waiting when customers knock on your door. Conversely, you risk losing a fortune on your inventory if you blindly order stock—meaning your capital tied up in the inventory becomes too high.

How do you then avoid both of these adverse outcomes and meet the needs of your customers? 

What your competitors are doing is stocking up on digital aids for their inventory management. So, to remain competitive, it is crucial to have an efficient inventory management system in place that can keep track of all your goods movements. 

But what is inventory management software, and why is it so important?

What is Inventory Management Software? 

Inventory management software, also known as a Warehouse Management System (WMS), is designed to help inventory-driven businesses manage their goods movements and inventory. This software acts as a central platform where all inventory and order-related activities can be monitored and controlled. 

Inventory management software thus allows businesses to keep track of every item, from receipt at the warehouse to dispatch to the customer, ensuring that inventory levels are always up-to-date. Here are some of the core features that inventory management software includes:

• Inventory tracking: You get real-time updates on your inventory, so you can keep track of how many items you have in stock, where they are located, and how quickly they are selling. This ensures there is always an accurate record of inventory levels, preventing over or understocking of specific items.

• Order management: Manage purchase orders, customer orders, and returns efficiently with the order management in your inventory management software. Order management helps you optimize purchasing processes and ensures that customers receive their orders on time, while also minimizing the risk of delivery errors.

• Task automation: Reduce the amount of manual work by automating repetitive tasks such as updating inventory status and generating purchase and sales reports. Automation can also include reminders to reorder items when inventory levels reach a certain threshold and integration with other business systems.

• Integration with other systems: Many inventory management systems can be integrated with ERP systems (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM systems (Customer Relationship Management), and e-commerce platforms, creating a more cohesive and efficient business operation. With inventory management software in your arsenal, you don’t have to enter your data twice, as it syncs freely between your inventory management system and your other systems.

• Reporting and analysis: Inventory management software provides you with real insight into your inventory data, so you can optimize your decision-making and forecast future needs. Detailed reports will help you identify patterns and trends in sales and inventory, making it easier to plan and adjust inventory strategies.

• Management of multiple warehouse locations: If your business operates with multiple warehouse locations, inventory management software will be a real boost to your inventory management. It makes it possible to monitor and manage inventories across all locations from a central platform, giving you a complete overview down to the shelf level. 

That gave you a little taste of some of the features that inventory management software can offer.

It sounds good on paper – but is it worth the effort for my business, you might ask? Can it pay off in dollars and cents, sweat and tears in the daily workflow? 

Let’s take a look at how inventory management software can be the decisive factor for your business growth, so you can become more knowledgeable about whether it is the right inventory solution for you. 

Why is Inventory Management Software Important for Inventory-Driven Businesses Like Yours? 

Implementing inventory management software can have a range of benefits that can improve and optimize the way your business operates and give you powerful results in the long run. 

By integrating inventory management software into your processes, you can achieve the following benefits:

1. Increased efficiency: By automating many of the manual tasks associated with inventory management, employees can focus on more value-added activities such as sales, marketing, customer service, and product optimization. Having inventory management software in your toolbox also reduces the risk of human errors associated with manual inventory management, which can cost time and money.

2. Automatic regulation of inventory: Inventory management software automatically regulates your inventory when you record a goods movement to or from your warehouse. And this particularly helps you with your purchases. For in addition to updating your item numbers and your inventory values, i.e., how much capital you have tied up in your inventory, inventory management software also updates your cost prices. 

These can change over time, and it is important for you to know the margin, so you can adjust the selling price according to the fluctuating cost prices. In this way, inventory management software helps you ensure that you continue to make money on your items in the future.

3. Cost savings: Having a full overview of your items means less waste, fewer expired products, and better negotiating positions with suppliers thanks to precise data about your inventory needs. This can result in significant savings over time. 

With purchasing, sales, and reordering reports, you can also keep a close eye on which items are selling and which items are lagging a bit behind in terms of demand. This gives you ample opportunity to adjust your purchasing management according to fluctuating customer preferences and market trends.

4. Better customer service: Fast and accurate processing of orders means that customers receive their goods on time, which increases customer satisfaction and loyalty. With inventory management software, you can bring together all your sales channels in one system, giving you a full order overview.

Orders from the POS (Point of Sale) and webshop automatically come in when you have synchronized the warehouse system with the POS and webshop, and you can also manually create customer orders in the system. Together with the real-time updates on the inventory, you thus get a clear picture of which customers should receive which items and when, so you can always deliver the goods on time.

5. Scalability: As your business grows, your inventory management software will grow with you. It can handle larger volumes and more complex processes without compromising on efficiency. With most inventory management systems, you also don’t need to pay extra when you start to get more items, invoices, and orders. 

Moreover, inventory management software is often cloud-based, which means that all your data is securely stored in the cloud. This ensures that you always have access to up-to-date information, regardless of where you are, without having to worry about data storage or security. Cloud-based systems also make it easy to add new users, upgrade the system, and integrate new features. 

Now you have become a bit wiser about what inventory management software can potentially give you and your business. But how do you make the right choice?

How do You Choose the Right Inventory Management Software? 

When you are looking for inventory management software that can meet your needs, it is important to consider the following factors: 

1. Usability: The software should be intuitive and easy to use for all employees. It is crucial that the system has a user-friendly interface, so everyone can learn to use it quickly without extensive training.

2. Integration: The warehouse system should be able to integrate with your other systems, such as ERP, finance, and the webshop. Effective integration ensures that data flows smoothly between different business systems, reducing the need for double entry and minimizing the risk of data inconsistencies. Therefore, make sure that the chosen inventory management software supports integration with your existing platforms and tools.

3. Support and training: A warehouse system is a bit more complex than a spreadsheet. Therefore, choose a supplier that offers solid customer support and training resources. Educational materials, such as online tutorials, user manuals, and training programs, help your employees become familiar with the software and fully utilize its features. 

In this regard, look for providers that offer free trial periods, so you can get a good idea of how the system is set up and works before you jump into a purchase.

4. Price: Consider the costs of implementing and operating the system. Choose a solution that fits within your budget, but be aware that the cheapest solution is not necessarily the best in the long run. Assess the costs in relation to the features and the value the system brings to your business. 

By taking these factors into account, you can choose the inventory management software that best meets your business needs and helps you optimize inventory management, improve efficiency, and support your business growth. 

Closing Thoughts on Inventory Management Software and Your Next Steps 

Inventory management software is thus a vital component for any inventory-driven business that wants to optimize its operations and improve its bottom line.

And by understanding the basic benefits and features of inventory management software, you can make informed decisions that can help your business thrive in a competitive marketplace, where both customers and competitors make use of all the automation opportunities that can be imagined.

So, if you are considering implementing an inventory management software in your business, you can get closer to finding your solution by reading what Rackbeats offers. You can also jump right ahead and test the system for 14 days free of charge.