8 Tips for Successfully Implementing an Inventory Management System
Efficient and accurate inventory management remains a challenge to companies and organisations all over the world. Keeping track of various assets is a crucial part of running a business as it can affect service delivery and constrain a business’ operating budget. However, cost-inefficiencies can be avoided with an efficient system supported by effective processes.
Making sure that you have the right products with sufficient quantities can help reduce the required manpower, labour hours and operational costs. Here are 6 tips on implementing an inventory system:
- Understand your Inventory Requirements
Before any system implementation, it is important to understand your current inventory levels, top and bottom sellers, and how often are re-orders required. Understanding your inventory requirements allows better insight to the right inventory management system that’s suited for your business.
- Categorise Your Inventory
Organising your stock into categories makes your inventory management system easier to maintain and more efficient overall. This helps you understand the products that are higher in demand and the items that are slow-moving.
When categorising your inventory, make sure to tag items that have slow turnover rates to better differentiate low-performing products. Products that have a lower cost but turn over quickly should be categorised accordingly for more efficient tracking. Doing so ensures timely product replenishment since higher stock quantities are likely needed to avoid stockouts, especially for popular SKUs.
- Keep Track of Product Information Effectively
One of the crucial aspects of inventory management is product information. Adding accurate product information helps frontline staff and middle managers to identify, sort and differentiate products more effectively. . Examples of product information would be barcode data, suppliers, country of origin, SKU and lot numbers etc. Keeping track of this information is easy with the use of effective Retail ERP software.
- Minimise Costs by Gauging Demand based on Seasonality
Most businesses also track the cost of each item over time, this is especially true for products that are high in demand. The costs of acquiring new inventory may change depending on scarcity and seasonality, which may prompt businesses to come up with alternative products or source from new suppliers with cheaper costs.
- Integrate EPOS Systems for Inventory Management
Managing inventory manually can be a chore if there are a lot of products to keep track and maintain. Implementing an inventory management system can be made easy with the help of an effective Enterprise Point of Sale or EPOS system.
EPOS systems help businesses by enabling efficient tracking processes that require less manpower which, in turn, reduces cost-inefficiencies. On top of that, a well-built EPOS system increases clarity through automated sales reports and analytics, allowing you to monitor your business’ sales performance. An effective system helps with cost-efficient inventory management which leads to greater profit.
- Ensure Accuracy with New Stock Arrivals
An important aspect of inventory management would be accuracy. This means that avoiding discrepancies in stock count is essential. Keep in mind that even the smallest of discrepancies in new stock arrivals can have a huge negative impact on the overall accuracy of your inventory reports. This is why maintaining stringent processes is important, especially with new stock arrivals.
- Maximise Clarity with Regular Stocktakes
Implementing an inventory management system helps maximise accuracy as inventory sold are automatically deducted from the total stock quantity. However, frontline managers would still have to to ensure that the inventory count is as accurate as possible when conducting regular stocktakes.
- Test your System
Prior to launching your inventory management system, it is of utmost importance to implement rigorous testing through simulations. This allows you to assess if the software and hardware infrastructure is capable of handling your inventory management needs post implementation.
Finding the Right Inventory Management System is Crucial
Inventory management can be more efficient with the right system in place. This is why ensuring accuracy with efficient processes can go a long way in helping your organisation maintain and document inventory.
Are you prospecting for an effective inventory management system? Consult our system experts today.
Looking for more insights? Learn how you can make stock management work in your favour with Eurostop’s guide to retail EPOS and stock management.
