A common problem among growing businesses is inventory expansion. Your inventory may feel like it’s out of control. In order to please your customers, you add new SKUs rapidly, but end up with a proliferation of items that can be a nightmare to control. What’s a business to do?
Take back control of your inventory by asking a few questions:
- Do I stock the right items?
- Can I make better use of floor space?
- Is my stock rotated adequately?
- Is my inventory tracking accurate?
- Do I know the current value of my inventory?
- How can I forecast demand to maintain levels without overstocks?
- Is there a way to track in-transit inventory?
- Can I improve warehouse efficiencies by changing how the warehouse is organized?
- When should I re-order?
Both manual and older computerized warehouse systems have significant drawbacks and cannot help you answer these and other questions. For example, manual systems can only tell you how many items you have in your inventory. You cannot be sure that the count is accurate. Simple transcription errors can lead to inaccurate stock-taking and inaccurate reports.
Most older systems do not include forecasting software. Forecasting is often a guessing game, with experienced staff people using their judgment to re-order items. While that may not be a bad system, it may not be the most effective way of forecasting inventory needs.
A jumbled warehouse or one that’s poorly organized can also lead to significant losses. If you cannot track your inventory, you do not know how much it is worth. If your warehouse is organized poorly, you may re-order products under the assumption that you are out of stock when, in fact, you have plenty but they are simply misplaced. A whole host of problems can occur in manual systems or older computer systems that cannot keep up with the pace of today’s modern businesses.
Acumatica Provides Data and Insights for Better Business Management
Acumatica is a cloud-based software solution that helps you track your business data in real-time. That means that you can look at your data anytime, anywhere. You can see what your stock levels are, forecast re-orders, and view the order pipeline. All of the data is instantly available.
Because Acumatica is cloud-based, it’s highly affordable. Cloud-based solutions use secure servers shared with other companies. You use only the space needed for your business. You don’t need to purchase expensive new servers or systems.
Acumatica’s inventory and warehouse data can help you take back control of your warehouse. The warehouse data provided within the system gives you both the big picture as well as granular functionality, so you can see categories or individual SKUs. You won’t need to guess any more about when to re-order since simple alerts can be programmed into the system to let you know when you’re getting low.
Customers may even receive orders faster because you can locate stock more easily. And you’ll never guess at the value of your inventory again. Acumatica calculates it for you, and can adjust it based on items moving in and out of the warehouse.
The right data can transform your business. You can become more competitive, improve profits, and increase efficiency. Learn more about Acumatica. Contact us today.