Taking inventory shouldn't be a much-dreaded, often-avoided task that your business has to suffer through annually.
Instead, inventory should be a painless, automatic task that your company performs on a daily basis. If your business doesn't have automated inventory management software, you are missing out on these ten great benefits.
1. Proper Inventory Management Software Helps You Avoid Running Out of Stock
When you run out of items, your customers purchase them from your competitors instead. This not only costs you that sale, but future sales as well, since customers won't bother going to stores that frequently have out of stock items.
2. It Helps You Avoid Ordering Too Much Stock
Ordering too much stock can be just as costly, however. When your money is tied up in unsold inventory you can’t spend money on other business improvements you'd rather be making.
3. It Allows You to Gather Important Sales Information
If an item suddenly starts selling like hot cakes, you'll want to know right away so you can stock more of it immediately, instead of six months later when the craze has passed. Inventory management allows you to see sale trends.
4. It Allows You to Provide More Reliable Service
If you sell products online, your customers will not know what is out of stock unless the website flags it. Keep track of your inventory and you can mark items "out of stock" as needed and eliminate customer frustration.
5. It Helps You Provide Better Customer Service
If something goes wrong and your customer calls to find out what has happened to an order, you want to be able to provide an informed answer. With inventory management, you can find out right away where the package is and when it will arrive.
6. It Speeds Up Your Reordering Process
Save yourself the time of manually counting inventory to see what you need to restock. With inventory management software, you'll be able to instantly check what you are running low on.
7. It Reduces Your Likelihood of Thefts
Avoid thefts by keeping close tabs on your inventory. If your employees know all items are accounted for, they will be far less likely to help themselves.
8. It Allows for a Smoother Flow
With inventory management, you always know exactly what you have in stock, what is selling, what isn't selling, and where everything is. This helps your business flow much more smoothly.
9. It Allows for More Efficient Inventory Assessments
When it does come time to check inventory, the process will be far more efficient as you will only have to confirm the information in the program. Not only will this make the inventory process go off without a hitch, but it will help minimize disruptions to your normal workflow as well.
10. It Helps You Price Appropriately
Finally, to maximize your profits, you need to set your prices based on current supply and demand. If you don't know what your supply and demand are then your prices will be off, and you will lose significant amounts of money.
