How To Choose The Best Inventory Management Software? Benefits of Inventory Management Software,Key Features of Inventory Management Software

A good inventory management software can be a game-changer for your company. Inventory management system is an application of computer software and it is also known as stock management software which managing, tracking stocked goods of a company. Using an inventory software for small and large business organizations which can easily manage the constant flow of goods and prevent excessive ordering or lack of products in the inventory. To meet customer needs, it is important for businesses to have enough inventory. Inefficient inventory management negatively impacts a company’s bottom line. Main features of this software include order management, asset tracking, service management, and product identification. Start by checking our leader NetSuite ERP, and other recommended solutions in this category.

How To Choose The Best Inventory Management Software

Companies that deal with large amounts of physical products need a reliable and efficient inventory management tool. But since there are hundreds of such tools in the market, it can be a hard task to select the right one for your needs. This  guide describes the list of basic features of inventory management tools for small business firms or enterprises, identifies the various types of online platforms available, and helps you easily navigate the complex selection process and choose the best Inventory Management tool for your company.

inventory management software tools can be categorized into the following types:

 Type of Industry – Inventory software is different for different industries such as retail, manufacturing, and distribution. Each software offers unique features for a particular industry. Even within a specific industry, there are different solutions. For instance, retail inventory apps are offered for auto parts, gas stations, restaurants etc. However, some solutions can be used across any retail sector.

 Company size – Inventory control needs are different for an individual store, across five or six locations, and across an 80-unit franchise. Therefore, select a system suitable for your company’s size to ensure your requirements are met without needing to pay for robust features that you are not going to use.

Software requirements – Some companies are satisfied with a specialty inventory management solution, while others look for full-suite applications that offer other key features such as business intelligence, supply chain management, project management, estimating, and accounting.

Types of Inventory Management Software

There are many different types of inventory management software, varying from free and basic tool suites to ultra costly and accurate programs. Features can also be categorization criteria, as certain programs do nothing but listing orders, while others are more robust and they allow sales departments to track and categorize those orders, provide dynamic product information, and even do some custom branding. Deployment is also an important factor based on which there are:

On-premise inventory management systems. These are covered with a single license and are hosted on the client’s local server. They qualify as the most expensive ones, due to the fact that they require complex setup and occasionally some hardware installation.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) inventory management systems. These are usually paid per month and are hosted on the vendor’s server. The business owner is not responsible for installation, updating, and maintenance.

Cloud-hosted inventory management systems. Most of these offer free basic plans and qualify as the most affordable ones due to their universal access and the fact that the client does not need to update them or to pay for maintenance.

Key Features of Inventory Management Software

These are the main features to expect from your next inventory management system:

Product categorization.

This feature enables you to migrate products from one group/channel to another, and to categorize them by name, type, price, supplier, supply channel, and so on. On top of it, you get to exercise full inventory control, since you can track every product, and forecast and support demand.

Sales/purchase orders. Inventory management software makes it possible to manage purchase and sales from a single system, ideally such that is packed with order tracking tools, inventory controls tools, invoice management tools, and so on.

Electronic scanning. This feature is more than helpful, as it enables electronic data interchange, and caters for global selling trends. Scanning and tracking assets electronically is a whole new level of inventory control, allowing also electronic shipment and complete warehouse tracking.

Automatic ordering. Automated ordering saves companies both their time and their manual efforts for managing billing and tracking their projected sales in an optimized way. This type of multichannel inventory management is welcomed for every retailer, regardless of whether he is selling only one product or many of them.

Dynamic product information. By dynamic product information, we actually mean access and full inventory control of your stock, and a close eye on every product available. In such a way, products can be managed easily, and the sales information about them can be easily integrated with the rest of the company’s software architecture.

Benefits of Inventory Management Software

These are the three main benefits companies experience when using a inventory management system:

Efficiency and Speed. An inventory management system makes it easy to do a range of tasks from inputting data to taking inventory. It can take days to perform a manual count of inventory, but an inventory management solution can help you accomplish the task in a few hours.

Document Generation. Managers can use the system to automatically generate a range of documents such as account statements, invoices, checks, and purchase orders. They can automatically order a fresh batch of products if they run low on stock.

Insightful Data. An inventory management system offers insightful reports on data such as how many units are in stock, how many have been sold, and which are the fastest-selling products.

Hope now you Choose The Best Inventory Management Software for yourself.