Any business process that involves company acquisition of products such as office materials, raw materials, equipment and even goods and other products, and a lot more that is considered to be company property for company use and for selling in the market needs to be on the inventory list. The scope of inventory process is very wide as all businesses needed to integrate this process in their system to keep track of the movement of their investment and keeping records of it.
Thanks to the advancement of technology for modernizing the way of managing a business, and in this case, inventory process. With this technology, you don’t need to manually itemize all products coming in and out that need monitoring as it equipped you with computerized handheld inventory tools that are used to scan items that have radio frequency identification (RFID) or barcodes and directly to the inventory record for analysis.
And there are different types of how these processes are done like inventory management and inventory control software as the two most common.
Fine Line Between “Inventory Management” and Inventory “Control” Software
Don’t be confused by the idea that inventory control software (ICS) is the same as inventory management software (IMS). Because they’re not.
IMS, as a whole, focuses only on the process of order management, product/asset tracking, product identification, orders, sales, deliveries, and storage management. It doesn’t care whatever you want to store or how much product you want to store as long as it can get the job done. Plain and simple. Chances are you will overstock, have shortages, store goods more than their expiration dates, and a lot more hassle.
While ICS, on the other hand, is the process that deals with the products that you must have at your disposal. These products are the ones that move fast in the market. In other words, these products are the products that hit the cash register faster and continuously, or if you are in the restaurant business, it’s the management of the must-have ingredient in your kitchen to serve that best-selling dish nonstop. And it applies to almost all types of business, big or small.
Guide in Comparing Inventory Control Software
There’s an endless list of software solution for your business in the market, but how can you tell which the right software package that would fit the needs of your business is? To further give you an idea of the things that you must know in order to make a wise decision when choosing the right ICS package when you are comparing software products, these are some of what you need to do:
- Determine your Business’ Status. Before you make a decision, identify first the current things your business is doing to determine the right software package that you need to have; this is crucial because not all software packages are made the same.
- Niche-based or All-in-One Product. The downside of an all-in-one product is that it cannot guarantee that it will perform and would surely give you a hard time figuring out how to use it efficiently. However, after a long time and a lot of trial and error and figuring things out and you finally get it to work right then you could do almost everything you need. Meanwhile, a niche-based is a software package that is tailor-made to fit specifically for your business. But the downside of this is that you do not have the flexibility to work with other things.
- User-Friendly. To further limit errors, find a product that can do everything you need but is also easy to use. You don’t need an interface that has 100 buttons of different tasks to press. Instead, what you need it to be is to be able to categorize and organize and, at the same time, be strategically placed on the screen for easy access and use.
- Mobile Connectivity. This is the most popular trend nowadays, having this ability to incorporate mobile devices in conducting any business process. With this, you can still monitor and control the flow of work no matter where you are.
- What Server Should I Get? Accessibility is the key to getting a great amount of efficiency, and that is why you need to consider how you want or have to access your data. Available options are cloud-based, web-based, and on-premise servers that best fit big businesses as they need to house all network and server equipment. Both cloud- and web-based servers can be accessed through the internet anytime, anywhere with any devices, while on-premise servers can only be accessed through local networks for safer and controlled data management.
- Find the right solution. Remember, not all ICS packages are made the same. Check on the web for the software you think you can use. Read legitimate reviews from other users’ experience of using the product to know if the provider is putting his money where his mouth is. It is good to have at least 3–5 contenders.
- Decide. Once you’ve taken all factors into consideration, you can now decide on what package you are going to use. Remember, to maximize the benefits of ICS, pick the one that has all that you need and at the same time has other features to offer that you could possibly use from time to time giving your business the flexibility to handle other things.
With the help of this guide, making a wise decision in choosing for yourself on what is the right ICS package that would surely meet your business’ current and future needs is just a piece of cake.
Top 5 Benefits of Using the Right ICS Package
It is very important that you know what you’re going to get from acquiring the right ICS package. That way, you can set realistic goals and expectations.
- Easier Integration. Any software solution that is built for a specific system will definitely be easy to integrate into the company’s system. Lesser downtime and error when upgrading allowing your business to scale up a lot quicker without wasting time and money.
- Multi-Functional. The right software package for you will cover all the works that are necessary for your operation, making it easy for you to work across the board.
- Enhanced Efficiency. The right ICS package would guarantee to bring efficiency in all areas you are going to use it for, and an overall enhancement of efficiency is also guaranteed as it is built to suit your every need.
- Costs Reduction. You would have the ability to convert operational cost into profit if you get the right ICS package as it automates the process of inventory and eliminates tasks that cost so much time and manpower to process, which are not really necessary. In that way, you can shift your manpower to focus only on the ground works taking place.
- Better Inventory Control. Tracking down the number and type of products that are slow-selling or slow-moving in that market is what makes or breaks a company in this industry. Wisely store products or items that are relevant to making you money rather than waste money and an entire storage facility full of items that are going to sit around forever and not give your investment back.
ICS is the perfect tool that you need if you’re looking for an advantage in storing the right products. It lets you manage your inventory specifically to avoid overstocking and shortages of products and materials. Although other software providers are integrating ICS as a module in their IMS software packages, they know that by combining these factors in a single package will give them increased performance and flexibility that are badly needed by a business to be able to increase revenue and to further grow.
With all the inventory control software being advertised as the best in the market, having the knowledge of what you need and how to get it is your best weapon in finding that software that fits your business the best. To help you narrow down your choices, check out these product reviews from CrowdReviews.com.
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