As a SME knowing what you have and have not got in stock is crucial. Too much and your taking up valuable room for more popular products; too little and you run the risk of disappointing keen customers. So how can you overcome this potential business pitfall?
The answer: a good inventory system perhaps? Having now transitioned in to the cloud, using the correct and efficient inventory management system is now easier than ever and can help foster business growth and productivity, as well as provide a stable platform to support further growth and operational health.
But if you’re still weighing up their value, perhaps the following reasons could sway you towards the implementation of a good inventory management system for your business.
Keep up with demand accurately
Many small businesses struggle with inventory management, resulting in stock outs and cutbacks. Good inventory management is essential for the ongoing efficiency of a business and helps them meet the ongoing demands of their operations. A great inventory management system will provide accurate inventory tracking, valuable forecasting capabilities, and more.
Never miss a sale
Sales and profitability are the key components of business growth. Having a poor inventory system can wreak havoc on sales, leading to lost opportunities. There are many cases of retailers being overstocked or understocked, having insufficient stock in some warehouses or stores – the list goes on. If a business has confidence in its inventory management system, these types of errors can be minimised to allow the business to grow.
Better inventory planning
When dealing with inventory, it is important to know how much stock a business has on hand and how much will be required for the next buying cycle. Without such knowledge, businesses will be unprepared for future sales, especially if seasonal demand plays a part in the business. A great inventory management system will allow businesses to generate reports on historical sales so they can forecast and plan for future stock purchases.
Keeping up with business growth
Advancing technologies have introduced new inventory systems especially that of cloud inventory software systems. Here all inventory is accessible by the cloud – online, anytime and anywhere. Specific features and services are an important part of industry leading businesses today. The best software providers have started to build these technologies into their products, making the task of implementing them that much easier for you to keep up with business growth.
Cloud-based inventory management tools
There are numerous tools that a business to choose from, but one of the first things to consider is how well the inventory tool will integrate with your existing business management systems. Our experience as a Xero Platinum Partner has given us the chance to trial numerous apps and understand how – with Xero – your inventory, invoicing and reporting can sing!
One such example is Unleashed Software. Unleashed Software is a powerful cloud-based inventory management tool that allows businesses to accurately manage their inventory in real-time. We’ve found that Unleashed allows us and our clients (who have deployed it) to easily and accurately track stock in real-time across various locations for visibility on all inventory management processes and transactions. With such dynamic inventory information, businesses are better able to make data-driven business decisions.
Business needs evolve and technology is revolutionising the way we interact with and exchange information. To keep on top of performance and drive decision making, we know that you need your financial and business processing to be fast, reliable and efficient. With HMRC’s ‘Making Tax Digital’ initiative on the horizon, we’ve been working with clients to design and implement complete end-to-end accounting solutions that take these imminent changes into account.
Oliver Finch is an Outsourcing Director at Menzies working with business owners to improve the efficiency of their systems through cloud-based applications like Xero. For more information on the power of inventory management systems or to arrange a demonstration of Xero contact Oliver via email at ofinch@menzies.co.uk or telephone 01784 497 167.
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